For background, read here.
http://journals.democraticunderground.com/McCamy%20Taylor/283It seems Cheney went north to Alaska in the Spring of 2005 to discuss two oil pipeline projects and ANWR drilling with then governor Murkowski.
Murkowski loses office to Palin due to corruption scandal. Palin begins pursuing the TransCanada deal almost immediately.
It's interesting that she is picked for VP only a day after this deal is passed by Alaskan legislators.
And it seems the only way this deal can go forward is to get a permit from the Federal Energy Regulatory Commission.
Anybody out there with more information?
http://www.reuters.com/article/politicsNews/idUSN2750520720080828Alaska governor signs natgas pipeline license bill
Wed Aug 27, 2008 9:04pm EDT
ANCHORAGE, Alaska (Reuters) - Gov. Sarah Palin on Wednesday signed a bill giving the state authority to award TransCanada Corp a license to build and operate a multibillion-dollar pipeline to ship natural gas from the North Slope.
The line, which the company estimates will cost $26 billion to build, would ship about 4 billion cubic feet of natural gas a day starting in 2018, according to TransCanada's plan.
Two big oil producers, BP and ConocoPhillips, are pushing a competing natural gas pipeline plan. But the license to TransCanada would ensure that the state would not negotiate with any other developer.
The bill, passed by the legislature in a special session, goes into effect in 90 days, after which state officials will have the power to officially award the license.
http://thepinkflamingo.blogharbor.com/blog/_archives/2008/7/23/3807197.htmlThe real story is the fact that new mommy Palin has started pushing an oil pipeline that makes mince-meat out of the Democrats in the US House & Senate. She's managed to ram her pipeline through the Alaska House and it now heads to the state Senate.
"...The fate of a multibillion dollar pipeline that could unlock 4.5 billion cubic feet of North Slope gas reserves daily and power North American homes and businesses for decades now rests in the hands of 20 Alaska state senators. On Wednesday, the Alaska House of Representatives reaffirmed its Tuesday night vote to award an exclusive license to TransCanada Corp. (nyse: TRP - news - people ), which must move forward on federal permitting applications for the 1,715-mile pipeline estimated to cost between $26 billion and $30 billion.
This leaves the Senate to approve or reject the license by Aug. 2. Republican Senate President Lyda Green said her energy committee still has a few questions to pose, but she expects for the Senate to vote on Gov. Sarah Palin's license recommendation by late next week.
While the license in no way guarantees construction, it calls for TransCanada to move forward on a costly process of pursuing a federal certificate, but also with up to $500 million in state seed money. "We are not pursuing this project to spend a lot of our money and the state's money and just end up with a certificate," said TransCanada vice president Tony Palmer. "Our goal is to successfully get a certificate, successfully attract customers and successfully complete a project." As the debate on Capitol Hill over domestic natural gas and oil production grows increasingly divisive and partisan, Alaska's pipeline discussion is being closely watched...."
There’s this at
http://www.forbes.com/reuters/feeds/reuters/2008/09/04/2008-09-04T225039Z_01_N04422864_RTRIDST_0_USA-POLITICS-PALIN-PIPELINE.htmlThe vice presidential hopeful, in her speech Wednesday to the Republican National Convention, said she fought to bring about "the largest private-sector infrastructure project in North American history" to bolster America's energy security
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No construction can start on any pipeline until the Federal Energy Regulatory Commission grants a permit, said former Gov. Tony Knowles, a Democrat who served from 1994 to 2002 and then lost to Palin in 2006. He opposed granting TransCanada a state license.
"Some people think it was the right step. Other people didn't," he said. "But there's nobody who thinks that this has started construction of the pipeline. All it does is it identifies who the state is supporting to get the certificate from FERC."
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http://thepinkflamingo.blogharbor.com/blog/_archives/2008/7/23/3807197.htmlThe real story is the fact that new mommy Palin has started pushing an oil pipeline that makes mince-meat out of the Democrats in the US House & Senate. She's managed to ram her pipeline through the Alaska House and it now heads to the state Senate.
"...The fate of a multibillion dollar pipeline that could unlock 4.5 billion cubic feet of North Slope gas reserves daily and power North American homes and businesses for decades now rests in the hands of 20 Alaska state senators. On Wednesday, the Alaska House of Representatives reaffirmed its Tuesday night vote to award an exclusive license to TransCanada Corp. (nyse: TRP - news - people ), which must move forward on federal permitting applications for the 1,715-mile pipeline estimated to cost between $26 billion and $30 billion.
This leaves the Senate to approve or reject the license by Aug. 2. Republican Senate President Lyda Green said her energy committee still has a few questions to pose, but she expects for the Senate to vote on Gov. Sarah Palin's license recommendation by late next week.
While the license in no way guarantees construction, it calls for TransCanada to move forward on a costly process of pursuing a federal certificate, but also with up to $500 million in state seed money. "We are not pursuing this project to spend a lot of our money and the state's money and just end up with a certificate," said TransCanada vice president Tony Palmer. "Our goal is to successfully get a certificate, successfully attract customers and successfully complete a project." As the debate on Capitol Hill over domestic natural gas and oil production grows increasingly divisive and partisan, Alaska's pipeline discussion is being closely watched...."