Energy Department Announces Alaska Railbelt Transmission Project to Receive Defense Production Act Funding, Securing Alaska Military Installations and Local Communities

The U.S. Department of Energy today announced its intent to deploy Defense Production Act funding to develop a second high-voltage connection between Southcentral and Interior Alaska, strengthening grid infrastructure essential to national defense.

WASHINGTON—The U.S. Department of Energy today announced its intent to deploy Defense Production Act (DPA) funding to develop a second high-voltage connection between Southcentral and Interior Alaska, strengthening grid infrastructure essential to national defense. The Alaska Energy Authority’s Beluga-Healy Transmission Project combines up to $150 million in DPA funding with $268 million in non-federal funding, representing a planned total investment of $418 million in Alaska’s grid. 

Approximately 223 miles of new transmission line connecting Beluga and Healy will be built. Once complete, grid operators will have an additional pathway to move power between Alaska’s most densely populated communities and major military installations–lowering electricity costs and strengthening grid reliability for approximately 75% of Alaska’s population.

Thanks to President Trump and the passage of the Working Families Tax Cut, $1 billion in federal funding has been appropriated for energy-related projects deemed critical to national security. Presidential Determination No. 2026-10 identifies transmission lines and conductors, substations, and power-control and protection equipment as essential to national defense.