The Alaska Energy Authority announced Tuesday that it is lending $4.9 million to help build a solar farm at the Red Dog Mine. With a maximum output of 8.8 megawatts, it would be bigger than any solar farm operating in Alaska today.
According to plans filed with the state, the solar farm will have more than 15,000 panels on about 30 acres, an area about the size of 23 football fields. It’s expected to be finished in late 2028 and cost about $35 million.
AEA Executive Director Curtis Thayer said he thinks it’s the first time the state agency’s Power Project Fund has lent money to support a mine.
“It’s nice to have renewables supporting a mining activity. It’s a balance,” Thayer said. “The one thing is it displaces diesel, and diesel is very expensive.”
Red Dog, one of the world’s largest zinc mines, uses an enormous amount of energy. Teck Alaska, which operates the mine, projects Red Dog will spend $40 to $45 million just on energy this year, according to its annual filing to federal regulators.
The mine runs on diesel shipped to its port near Kivalina. Its eight diesel generators burn about 40,000 gallons each day, or nearly 15 million gallons a year, according to figures published by Teck reported by the Anchorage Press.
Red Dog typically uses about 25 megawatts of power, roughly seven times what Kotzebue uses at its busiest.
Thayer said the solar farm will cover about 5% of the mine’s power needs right now.
“It uses a lot of power right now, and so it’s just a small, small piece of it,” he said.
Red Dog is expected to close in 2031 unless Teck develops new deposits nearby. After closure, the solar farm would supply about 90% of the site’s power needs, mostly for cleanup.
“There's remediation that has to be done once the mine is closed, and so this will pay for that,” Thayer said.
AEA’s loan goes to Tugliq RedDog1, a subsidiary of a Canadian energy company. The company will build, own and operate the solar farm, then sell power to Teck.
Thayer said the load has a 5.5% interest rate, compared to a market rate of about 6.6%. The state agency offers loans with better-than-market terms to serve its mission of advancing affordable, reliable energy in the state. Thayer said AEA is confident the loan will be repaid, even if the mine closes on schedule.
Teck has been pursuing renewable power at the mine for years, including installing a weather tower in 2024 to evaluate potential for wind energy. The company first proposed the solar farm in March. At the time, it wanted construction to start by June to take advantage of federal tax credits set to expire in July.
Teck and Tugliq did not immediately respond to requests for comment.
