Alaska

Opinion: Before Alaska becomes an AI data farm, be sure to read the fine print

Published

3 months ago

January 3, 2026

Opinion: Before Alaska becomes an AI data farm, be sure to read the fine print

The Stargate artificial intelligence data center complex in Abilene, Texas. (AP)

Artificial intelligence is driving a revolution in the economy and culture of the United States and other countries. Alaska is being pitched as the next frontier for one of the most energy-intensive industries: data centers, with their primary purpose of advancing AI, socially disruptive to a degree as yet unknown.

Gov. Mike Dunleavy, the state’s biggest promoter, has invited more than a dozen high-tech firms, including affiliates of Microsoft, Facebook and Amazon, to establish “data farms” in Alaska. He has personally toured executives around potential sites in the Anchorage and Fairbanks areas. The Alaska Legislature has been a bit more circumspect, though its House Concurrent Resolution 3 (HCR 3) states that “the development and use of artificial intelligence and the establishment of data centers in the state could stimulate economic growth, create job opportunities and position the state as a leader in technological innovation.” True, however, the resolution makes no mention of drawbacks stemming from data center development.

The Northern Alaska Environmental Center (NAEC), based in Fairbanks, is examining the known and potential benefits, costs and risks of data center growth in the state. It urges a well-informed, unhurried, transparent and cautious approach.

First, though, what are data centers? They are facilities that house the servers, storage, networking and other computing infrastructure needed to support AI and other digital services, along with their associated electrical and cooling infrastructure.

Generally speaking, there are two categories of data centers. One is the massive hyperscale facility, typically operating at multi-megawatt scale and designed to scale much higher. An example is the proposed Far North Digital (FND) Prudhoe Bay Data Center. It would start with a capacity of 120 megawatts with “significant expansion potential.” Natural gas would power it.

The other kind is the micro or microgrid data center. A good example is Cordova’s Greensparc Corp/Cordova Electric Cooperative 150-kilowatt facility. It is powered by 100% renewable energy from the nearby hydroelectric plant. We concur with the University of Alaska Fairbanks’ Alaska Center for Energy and Power (ACEP) analysis that contends that such smaller and sustainable data centers, sometimes integrated into existing microgrids, are more feasible for Alaska, particularly in underserved or remote communities.

The main problem with data centers is their high to huge energy demands, especially hyperscale ones that can consume as much electricity as 100,000 homes. Cooling can account for about 40% of a facility’s energy use, though it varies. While Alaska’s cold climate is an environmental advantage, reducing the need for energy-intensive mechanical cooling systems, cooling still requires a lot of water. The NAEC advocates that any new data centers be required to minimize use and thermal pollution of waters and reuse waste heat for local heating.

The Railbelt grid already faces constraints and expensive upgrade needs. The NAEC believes that if new data centers are developed, regulatory safeguards must be in place to ensure they do not exacerbate grid shortages and raise household electricity costs.

Most electricity powering data centers still comes from fossil fuels, even as operators sign renewable contracts and add clean generation. Building fossil fuel-powered data centers would lock in high-emissions infrastructure for decades, contradicting global decarbonization efforts. NAEC suggests that any new data center be required to build or contract for an equivalent amount of clean energy generation (wind, solar, hydro or geothermal) to match its consumption.

There are many other concerns that need to be addressed when considering data centers and AI development. One is the problem of electronic waste, or e-waste. Needed upgrades to data centers result in e-waste, which contains hazardous materials. Given Alaska’s remote potential sites and limited recycling infrastructure, the cost of appropriately dealing with e-waste should be factored into data center decisions.

In their haste to recruit data centers, several states have granted substantial tax abatements and subsidies, often with limited public benefit. Alaska must learn from the mistakes made elsewhere. Before considering approval of any new data centers, legislation should be in place that ensures that the corporations that will profit do not get discounted power rates or tax breaks and pass additional costs to ratepayers, including costs for needed upgrades.

Yes, data centers provide some much-needed diversification to Alaska’s economy, but not much. They are highly capital intensive and employ many in the construction phase, but few for operation. Companies should be required to train and hire local residents to the degree practical.

Then there is the profound but scarcely recognized issue that transcends energy, economics and the environment. Data centers expand the compute available for increasingly capable AI systems. Some researchers and industry leaders argue this could accelerate progress toward AI that matches or exceeds human capabilities, along with new risks. Ultimately, the greatest cost of data centers and AI may be the changes wrought to our humanity and society, for which we are woefully unprepared.

Roger Kaye is a freelance writer based in Fairbanks and the author of “Last Great Wilderness: The Campaign to Establish the Arctic National Wildlife Refuge.” He sits on the Issues Committee of the Northern Alaska Environmental Center.

• • •

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Alaska

West Valley’s Jayden Miranda named Gatorade Alaska Boys Basketball Player of the Year

Published

6 hours ago

March 22, 2026

Press Room

West Valley’s Jayden Miranda named Gatorade Alaska Boys Basketball Player of the Year

West Valley Wolfpack junior guard Jayden Miranda looks to pass the ball during a 56-38 loss to the Forest Wildcats from Ocala, Florida during the opening round of the Alaska Airlines Classic at West Anchorage High School on Thursday, Jan. 22, 2026. (Bill Roth / ADN)

Junior Jayden Miranda on Friday became the latest player from West Valley High School to be named Gatorade Alaska Boys Basketball Player of the Year.

“It feels good and it was definitely one of the goals that I had to check off my checklist,” he said. “I woke up, and I didn’t know. My coach told me, and it was just excitement in my heart. My heart was beating and I was just smiling.”

Miranda led the Wolfpack boys basketball team to a Mid Alaska Conference championship and the No. 1 seed at the 2026 ASAA 4A state tournament.

The 5-foot-11 guard also helped lead West Valley to a 22-4 record, and through 23 games, he averaged 14.7 points, 3.8 rebounds and 2.5 assists as well as shooting 51.8% from the floor and 39.7% from the perimeter.

“Miranda is a great kid on and off the court — gets good grades and never gets in trouble,” North Pole head coach Travis Church said in a statement. “Looking around 4A, I don’t see anyone who would measure up. He’s the best player on the best team in the state. It’s hard for me to imagine going with anyone else.”

Miranda is the second player from the program to receive the award. The first was two-time recipient Stewart Erhart, who was honored in back-to-back years from 2022-23.

The award acknowledges a student-athlete’s athletic achievement, and also recognizes outstanding academic excellence and exceptional character displayed on and off the court.

Miranda maintained a 3.36 GPA and volunteered locally with the Fairbanks Community Food Bank, donated time as a youth basketball coach and is a practiced artist who has also taken multiple cooking classes in high school.

He and the top-seeded Wolfpack fell short of advancing to the finals Friday after losing 59-52 to fifth-seeded South Anchorage.

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Alaska

Noordam Starts Repositioning Cruise to West Coast – Cruise Industry News

Published

18 hours ago

March 22, 2026

Press Room

Noordam Starts Repositioning Cruise to West Coast – Cruise Industry News

The Noordam sailed from Australia earlier this month to kick off a 36-night repositioning voyage to the West Coast. Sailing between Sydney and Seattle, the month-long itinerary started in mid-March and includes destinations in the South Pacific, French Polynesia and Hawaii. The cruise is highlighted by overnight visits to Honolulu…

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Alaska

Big Oil Flocks to Alaska in Record-Setting Petroleum Lease Sale | OilPrice.com

Published

1 day ago

March 21, 2026

Press Room

Big Oil Flocks to Alaska in Record-Setting Petroleum Lease Sale | OilPrice.com

The first lease sale in the National Petroleum Reserve-Alaska in seven years became the most successful auction in the area ever, as oil majors bid on hundreds of tracts, signaling they haven’t given up on Alaska’s petroleum resources despite development and court challenges.

This week’s oil and gas lease sale for the National Petroleum Reserve in Alaska, one of five mandated in the next decade under the Trump Administration’s One Big Beautiful Bill Act (OBBBA), drew a record high of $163.7 million in high bids and resulted in 187 leases in total, awarded to companies including ExxonMobil, ConocoPhillips, and a consortium of Repsol and Shell subsidiaries.

The lease sale set a record for Alaska with the most revenue generated ever, the most tracts receiving bids, and the second most acreage sold in a single sale, the Bureau of Land Management said.

The BLM offered 625 tracts across about 5.5 million acres for bid in the sale, revived at the end of last year by the Trump Administration. No lease sales were held in the National Petroleum Reserve in Alaska under President Biden.

In the first sale since 2019, a total of 11 companies submitted bids on 187 tracts covering 1,334,967 acres.

The Trump Administration, the state of Alaska, and the local oil and gas association welcomed the results of the record-setting lease sale as a vote of confidence for Alaska’s role in American energy dominance, while environmentalists vowed to challenge any oil and gas drilling in court, the way they are already doing for the lease program itself.

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“Today’s lease sale underscores the National Petroleum Reserve in Alaska’s vital role in strengthening America’s energy security while fueling economic growth across Alaska,” Secretary of the Interior Doug Burgum said.

Alaska’s Republican Governor Mike Dunleavy noted that the lease sale “reinforces Alaska’s role as a reliable energy producer, supports high-paying jobs for our families, provides additional revenue to the state, and strengthens American energy security at a time when energy security is more important than ever.”

The Alaska Oil and Gas Association and other business organizations in the state said that the “strong participation and unprecedented results underscore renewed investor confidence in Alaska’s North Slope and the state’s long-term resource potential.”

“The Trump administration deserves credit for helping restore access and certainty in the petroleum reserve, allowing industry to step forward with meaningful commitments,” said Steve Wackowski, president and CEO of the Alaska Oil and Gas Association.

“That confidence is critical to advancing responsible development of Alaska’s vast resources, supporting jobs, sustaining the Trans-Alaska Pipeline System, and strengthening U.S. national security in an increasingly uncertain world.”

The National Petroleum Reserve already hosts one massive oil development— the $9-billion Willow project by ConocoPhillips, which was approved by the Biden Administration in 2023, and is expected to start producing oil in 2029. Peak production is designed to be about 180,000 barrels per day (bpd) of crude.

Going forward, the development of any additional resources in Alaska’s National Petroleum Reserve would not be a fast and easy task. The conditions are harsher than in other areas, while environmentalists have vowed to fight both the latest lease sale and any future oil and gas drilling and development plans.

The Invisible Metals Powering a Trillion-Dollar Economy

Two groups represented by Earthjustice, the Center for Biological Diversity, and Friends of the Earth, restarted litigation last month challenging the lease sales and the underlying management plan, which opens 18.5 million acres within the 23-million-acre Reserve to potential oil and gas drilling and infrastructure.? Three other lawsuits also challenge the lease sale or decisions related to it.

“The results of this sale will spell disaster for the surrounding area,” said Hallie Templeton, Legal Director at Friends of the Earth U.S.?

“We will continue to see the Trump administration in court over its blatant disregard of federal law and complete failure to protect this vulnerable and rapidly shrinking area of our planet.”

By Tsvetana Paraskova for Oilprice.com

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