With a freshly overturned veto, Mat-Su Borough staff can now move forward on an agreement with Terra Energy Center to market usable land to data center companies and other high energy facilities. In particular, Terra Energy is interested in finding investors to build a coal-fired power facility through its parent company, Flatlands Energy. Mayor Edna DeVries says at the hearing that she vetoed the resolution because the company has not been properly vetted.
Terra Energy approached the Borough about the partnership. According to Purchasing Director Russ Krafft, it does not commit the Borough to any land agreements. Those would need to go through the normal purchasing process. He says Terra already has some properties available to them and is working to build its coal-fired power facility in the West Susitna area. This agreement would allow them to market the Borough as a potential place to build a high energy use facility, like a data center, that might use some of the energy produced from the plant.
Krafft says Borough staff will not be expected to provide any resources beyond what they would provide to residents and other businesses. Terra Energy will now be able to move forward with marketing the Borough to potential investors for their coal-fired power facility project.
