Editing Alaska (section)

===Energy===
{{See also|Natural gas in Alaska|List of power stations in Alaska|Energy law#Alaska law}}
[[File:Trans-Alaska Pipeline System Luca Galuzzi 2005.jpg|thumb|The [[Trans-Alaska Pipeline]] transports oil, Alaska's most financially important export, from the [[Alaska North Slope|North Slope]] to [[Valdez, Alaska|Valdez]]. The [[heat pipe]]s in the column mounts are pertinent, since they disperse heat upwards and prevent melting of [[permafrost]].]]
[[File:Alaska Crude Oil Reserves.PNG|thumb|upright|Alaska [[proven reserves|proven oil reserves]] peaked in 1973 and have declined more than 60% since then. ]]
[[File:Alaska crude oil production in 1970 through 2020 (51140868890).png|thumb|Alaskan oil production peaked in 1988 and has declined more than 75% since then.]]

Alaska has vast energy resources, although its oil reserves have been largely depleted. Major oil and gas reserves were found in the [[Alaska North Slope]] (ANS) and Cook Inlet basins, but according to the [[Energy Information Administration]], by February 2014 Alaska had fallen to fourth place in the nation in crude oil production after Texas, [[North Dakota]], and California.<ref>{{cite web |url=http://www.eia.gov/state/?sid=ak |title=EIA State Energy Profiles: Alaska |publisher=U.S. Energy Information Administration |date=March 27, 2014 |access-date=May 21, 2014 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20140522070348/http://www.eia.gov/state/?sid=ak |archive-date=May 22, 2014 |url-status=live }}</ref><ref>{{cite web|title=Rankings: Crude Oil Production, February 2013|url=http://www.eia.gov/state/rankings/?sid=US&CFID=11011948&CFTOKEN=1da5d5e517e7a485-37ABEB4E-25B3-1C83-549C71EE21A56018&jsessionid=84305d8fd0e59a4565705d1e106846494687#/series/46|publisher=United States Energy Information Administration|access-date=May 19, 2014|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20131019131529/http://www.eia.gov/state/rankings/?sid=US&CFID=11011948&CFTOKEN=1da5d5e517e7a485-37ABEB4E-25B3-1C83-549C71EE21A56018&jsessionid=84305d8fd0e59a4565705d1e106846494687#/series/46|archive-date=October 19, 2013|url-status=live}}</ref> Prudhoe Bay on Alaska's North Slope is still the second highest-yielding oil field in the United States, typically producing about {{convert|400000|oilbbl/d|m3/d}}, although by early 2014 North Dakota's [[Bakken Formation]] was producing over {{convert|900000|oilbbl/d|m3/d}}.<ref>{{cite web | url=https://www.dmr.nd.gov/oilgas/stats/historicalbakkenoilstats.pdf | title=ND Monthly Bakken Oil Production Statistics | publisher=North Dakota Department of Mineral Resources | access-date=May 21, 2014 | archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20140714181113/https://www.dmr.nd.gov/oilgas/stats/historicalbakkenoilstats.pdf | archive-date=July 14, 2014 | url-status=live }}</ref> Prudhoe Bay was the largest [[conventional oil]] field ever discovered in North America, but was much smaller than Canada's enormous [[Athabasca oil sands]] field, which by 2014 was producing about {{convert | 1500000 | oilbbl/d | m3/d}} of [[unconventional oil]], and had hundreds of years of producible reserves at that rate.<ref>{{cite web | url=http://www.capp.ca/getdoc.aspx?DocId=227308 | title=Crude Oil Forecast, Markets and Transportation | publisher=Canadian Association of Petroleum Producers | date=June 2013 | access-date=May 21, 2014 | archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20140522084514/http://www.capp.ca/getdoc.aspx?DocId=227308 | archive-date=May 22, 2014 | url-status=dead }}</ref>

The [[Trans-Alaska Pipeline]] can transport and pump up to {{convert|2.1|Moilbbl|m3}} of crude oil per day, more than any other crude oil pipeline in the United States. Additionally, substantial coal deposits are found in Alaska's bituminous, sub-bituminous, and lignite coal basins. The [[United States Geological Survey]] estimates that there are {{convert|85.4|Tcuft|km3}} of undiscovered, technically recoverable gas from natural gas hydrates on the Alaskan North Slope.<ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.usgs.gov/corecast/details.asp?ep=74 |title=Gas Hydrates on Alaska's North Slope |publisher=Usgs.gov |access-date=June 2, 2010 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20100601170523/http://www.usgs.gov/corecast/details.asp?ep=74 |archive-date=June 1, 2010 |url-status=dead }}</ref> Alaska also offers some of the highest hydroelectric power potential in the country from its numerous rivers. Large swaths of the Alaskan coastline offer wind and geothermal energy potential as well.<ref>{{cite web|url=http://tonto.eia.doe.gov/state/state_energy_profiles.cfm?sid=AK |title=EIA State Energy Profiles: Alaska |publisher=Tonto.eia.doe.gov |date=August 27, 2009 |access-date=November 7, 2010 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20101103203218/http://tonto.eia.doe.gov/state/state_energy_profiles.cfm?sid=AK |archive-date=November 3, 2010 |url-status=live }}</ref>

Alaska's economy depends heavily on increasingly expensive diesel fuel for heating, transportation, electric power and light. Although wind and hydroelectric power are abundant and underdeveloped, proposals for statewide energy systems were judged uneconomical (at the time of the report, 2001) due to low (less than 50¢/gal) fuel prices, long distances and low population.<ref>{{cite web |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20080216014031/http://www.dced.state.ak.us/dca/AEIS/PDF_Files/AIDEA_Energy_Screening.pdf |archive-date=February 16, 2008 |url=http://www.dced.state.ak.us/dca/AEIS/PDF_Files/AIDEA_Energy_Screening.pdf |title=Screening Report for Alaska Rural Energy Plan |date=April 2001 |url-status=dead |access-date=April 11, 2006 }}</ref> The cost of a gallon of gas in urban Alaska is usually thirty to sixty cents higher than the national average; prices in rural areas are generally significantly higher but vary widely depending on transportation costs, seasonal usage peaks, nearby petroleum development infrastructure and many other factors.<ref>{{Cite web |title=Alaska Profile |url=https://www.eia.gov/state/print.php?sid=AK |access-date=2023-12-22 |website=www.eia.gov |archive-date=December 22, 2023 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20231222034426/https://www.eia.gov/state/print.php?sid=AK |url-status=live }}</ref><ref>{{Cite web |author-link=Alaska |date=January 2015 |title=Alaska Fuel Price Report: Current Community Conditions (January 2015) |url=https://www.commerce.alaska.gov/web/Portals/4/pub/Fuel_Price_Report_Jan-2015.pdf |access-date=December 22, 2023 |archive-date=January 19, 2024 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20240119085012/https://www.commerce.alaska.gov/web/Portals/4/pub/Fuel_Price_Report_Jan-2015.pdf |url-status=live }}</ref>

====Permanent Fund====
The [[Alaska Permanent Fund]] is a constitutionally authorized appropriation of oil revenues, established by voters in 1976 to manage a surplus in state petroleum revenues from oil, largely in anticipation of the then recently constructed [[Trans-Alaska Pipeline System]]. The fund was originally proposed by Governor [[Keith Harvey Miller|Keith Miller]] on the eve of the 1969 Prudhoe Bay lease sale, out of fear that the legislature would spend the entire proceeds of the sale (which amounted to $900&nbsp;million) at once. It was later championed by Governor [[Jay Hammond]] and [[Kenai, Alaska|Kenai]] [[Alaska House of Representatives|state representative]] Hugh Malone. It has served as an attractive political prospect ever since, diverting revenues which would normally be deposited into the general fund.

The [[Alaska Constitution]] was written so as to discourage dedicating state funds for a particular purpose. The Permanent Fund has become the rare exception to this, mostly due to the political climate of distrust existing during the time of its creation. From its initial principal of $734,000, the fund has grown to $50&nbsp;billion as a result of oil royalties and capital investment programs.<ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.apfc.org/|title=Alaska Permanent Fund Corporation|website=apfc.org|access-date=May 29, 2007|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20070520095308/http://www.apfc.org/|archive-date=May 20, 2007|url-status=live}}</ref> Most if not all the principal is invested conservatively outside Alaska. This has led to frequent calls by Alaskan politicians for the Fund to make investments within Alaska, though such a stance has never gained momentum.

Starting in 1982, dividends from the fund's annual growth have been paid out each year to eligible Alaskans, ranging from an initial $1,000 in 1982 (equal to three years' payout, as the distribution of payments was held up in a lawsuit over the distribution scheme) to $3,269 in 2008 (which included a one-time $1,200 "Resource Rebate"). Every year, the state legislature takes out 8% from the earnings, puts 3% back into the principal for inflation proofing, and the remaining 5% is distributed to all qualifying Alaskans. To qualify for the Permanent Fund Dividend, one must have lived in the state for a minimum of 12 months, maintain constant residency subject to allowable absences,<ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.pfd.state.ak.us/dividendamounts/index.aspx |title=State of Alaska Permanent Fund Division |publisher=Pfd.state.ak.us |access-date=June 2, 2010 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20100420014117/http://www.pfd.state.ak.us/dividendamounts/index.aspx |archive-date=April 20, 2010 |url-status=dead }}</ref> and not be subject to court judgments or criminal convictions which fall under various disqualifying classifications or may subject the payment amount to civil garnishment.

The Permanent Fund is often considered to be one of the leading examples of a [[basic income]] policy in the world.<ref>{{cite web|title = Alaska's Citizens' Dividend Set To Be Near Highest Ever|url = http://www.basicincome.org/news/2015/08/alaska-usa-dividend-amount-estimated-to-be-near-highest-ever/|website = BIEN| date=August 31, 2015 |access-date = November 3, 2015|archive-url = https://web.archive.org/web/20151103055141/http://www.basicincome.org/news/2015/08/alaska-usa-dividend-amount-estimated-to-be-near-highest-ever/|archive-date = November 3, 2015|url-status = live}}</ref>