The Bureau of Land Management's Rural Energy Program involves the study of the feasibility of using coalbed methane natural gas (CBNG) as an alternative energy source for remote Alaskan villages. In 2000 BLM entered into an agreement with the State of Alaska Division of Geological and Geophysical Surveys (DGGS) to do this. The Department of Energy (DOE) and the U.S. Geological Survey (USGS) have also provided support.  

 

More than 150 roadless Alaskan communities are at a economic disadvantage because of high energy prices. Diesel fuel is the primary source of electricity and heat in rural Alaska and its transport to roadless communities contributes to the overall energy costs.

 

Coalbed natural gas is a  potential energy source for rural Alaska communities and small scale CBNG production could boost rural Alaska's potential to become self-sufficient through the production of a local, cleaner, low cost energy source.

 

There are more than 35 rural villages situated on or adjacent to coal resources. A local energy source, such as CBNG, would reduce environmental risks associated with fuel transportation and storage, lower energy costs and boost local economies. Alaska has an abundance of CBNG resources with an estimated 1,037 trillion cubic feet (Barker, 2000), that could be used to benefit these communities.

   

The State of Alaska, a partner in the Rural Energy Program, identified Chignik, Fort Yukon, and Wainwright as priority sites to determine whether CBNG would be a viable local energy source.  In 2002, BLM participated in the unsuccessful drilling project in Chignik to locate coal beds. Since 1994, information gathered from the Ft. Yukon drill site determined traditional CBNG production methods are uneconomical.  During the 2007 summer, the drilling of a stratigraphic hole at Ft. Wainwright will produce data on CBNG content isotherm, permeability, water chemistry, gas composition and isotherm to determine if CBNG production testing is warranted. If so, production testing could occur during the summer of 2008. Partners include U.S. Geological Survey, Native corporations, the State of Alaska, and the North Slope Borough.

 

Currently, the BLM Rural Energy Program is in the process of developing a five year plan that will incorporate not only CBNG, but also other potential energy sources such as geothermal and wind that rural Alaskan villages could utilize as local energy sources.

 

The advent of coalbed natural gas (CBNG) development in Alaska has brought the potential for many rural Alaskan communities to become self-sufficient through the production of a local cleaner, low-cost energy source due to their proximity to CBNG resources.