A renewable energy company is advancing plans to build large wind farms in Alaska, even as President Donald Trump has moved to paralyze the industry.

Alaska Renewables has proposed wind projects that would provide a chunk of power along the Alaska Railbelt,reducing demand for natural gas from Cook Inletthat’s set to run short starting in 2027, likelyleading to costly imports.

The company is looking at five possible wind farm sites in the region.

It’s currently focused primarily on two projects, Shovel Creek Wind outside Fairbanks and Little Mount Susitna Wind northwest of Anchorage, across Cook Inlet.

If built, the two projects together could cut 12% of the demand for natural gas along the Railbelt, producing a total of about 300 megawatts of power, said Matt Perkins, who co-founded Alaska Renewables four years ago. Each project is expected to cost hundreds of millions of dollars.

Perkins said in an update to theRegulatory Commission of Alaska last monththat wind power can reduce demand for natural gas or diesel fuel.

“Every hour that wind is operating, that’s an hour that fuel is left in the tank,” he said.

According to plans, Shovel Creek could begin producing power in 2028. The Little Mount Susitna project could begin producing power in 2029.

Alaska Renewables is collecting an array of information, including wind studies, geotechnical reviews and workforce availability, Perkins said.

“We’re taking a very thorough approach to gather all the data,” Perkins said after the meeting. “It will give us a complete package to finalize the financing, design, construction and technology procurement that’s needed do one of these projects.”

Robert Pickett, the longest-serving member of the Regulatory Commission of Alaska, said after the meeting that the projects give him “some hope” that they can be built and help address a gas shortage that is coming quickly. The RCA regulates the electric utilities that might buy power from the projects, if they are constructed.

But the developers are up against headwinds, Pickett said.

Sizable Alaska projects take a long time to build, the wind industry faces challenges, and politics toward wind projects have changed in Washington, D.C. after the election, he said.

“They appear to have the technical expertise, but the renewable industry internationally right now is in a state of flux,” he said.

On the bright side, Alaska Renewables has a committed new partner in Longroad Energy.

The Boston-based company purchased the Alaska wind projects last year. Alaska Renewables is the development partner.

Longroad for two decades has owned and operated wind farms in several U.S. states, Perkins said.

“Longroad has the experience, we have the resources and we have the capital to deliver these projects,” said Chad Allen, director of development for Longroad. Allen also presented to the regulatory commission.

Will projects survive the Trump era?

Trump said on social media that he doesn’t want a single “windmill” built during his term. The president has ridiculed wind turbines as the “most expensive energy,” though the U.S. Department of Energy says they can be among the cheapest forms of new power generation.

Immediately on his return to office, Trump halted permitting and leasing for wind projects through an executive order.

The indefinite freeze lasts until his administration completes a review of wind permitting and leasing. The order provides no timeline for the review.

The broadside has threatened some wind projects across the U.S.

But Alaska Renewables is moving ahead with studies, though its projects will ultimately need federal approval.

“It’s simply too soon to know the impact that any of this will have on our industry,” Allen said in an interview. “If development stopped with every uncertainty, nothing would ever get built in this country.”

“We’re certainly cautious,” he said.

“But there’s still a lot of work that can be done right now that is not subject to those orders,” he said.

That includes completing, in the coming months, an engineering analysis of connecting to the grid.

Eventually, the projects will look to create power purchase agreements with utilities such as Chugach Electric Association, which has confirmed that the Little Mount Susitna project could provide a significant amount of power. Purchases from the projects will require approval from the state regulatory commission.

Perkins said in the interview that the project does not depend on the tax credits in the Inflation Reduction Act that support wind farms and other forms of energy.

He said the credits would lower rates for power customers, however, if they are approved.

“Dollar for dollar,” Perkins said.

Uncertainty about whether Congress will scale back the tax credits was recently cited as a factor in halting a major solar farm along the Railbelt proposed by a different company.

Perkins said domestic manufacturing for wind turbines has expanded in recent years.

That can help reduce any potential concerns about higher project costs related to Trump’s newly imposed tariffs on Canada, Mexico and China.

Perkins said the wind projects are important for diversifying Alaska’s energy supply. Renewables have long played an important role in a state with limited access to power, he said.

“I think Alaska has been an all-of-the-above infrastructure state for a long time,” he said. “The governor has solar on his property and people put up wind turbines and use batteries off-grid. We need power and we need heat and we use the technologies that have been developed.”

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