Month: May 2026

One of the largest data centers in the nation has been proposed on Alaska’s Arctic North Slope, where boosters say it could take advantage of abundant land, cold temperatures for cooling and a huge supply of natural gas for power.

The $500 million development would occupy an entire square mile with multiple buildings in a remote area off the Dalton Highway, some 25 miles south of the North Slope’s major infrastructure. That’s according to documents released this week by the state, which on Tuesday issued a preliminary decision to lease the property to the project’s operator.

A newly built pipeline would carry natural gas to fuel the data center’s power plant — which, according to the documents, could use more than twice as much of the fuel as urban Alaska consumes for electrical generation and home and commercial heating. The project could ultimately produce up to three gigawatts of power for its own use, making it competitive with some of the largest data centers under development in the Lower 48.

The company behind the project is Stak Energy, which last year proposed a far smaller project more narrowly focused on digital mining of cryptocurrency. It now says it plans to support “large-scale AI and cloud computing operations,” including training of large-scale machine learning models and high-performance scientific and analytical computing.

The company in November proposed its lease to the Alaska Department of Natural Resources, which subsequently published a notice to solicit competing bids. None came in, so the department is now proceeding with the leasing process, with a public comment period on the preliminary decision open through June 15.

Stak has not disclosed who would finance its new project, though it previously said it was raising money from Anchorage firm McKinley Alaska Private Investment.

Stak has expanded significantly in recent months, making a number of politically connected hires including Gov. Mike Dunleavy’s former natural resources commissioner, John Boyle, and a former special assistant at the natural resources department, Jim Shine.

The company’s founder and chief executive, Sparrow Mahoney, grew up in Alaska and attended Wasilla High School.

Stak officials declined to respond to specific questions about its proposal. But the company shared a prepared statement that describes itself as having “deep Alaska roots, built on decades of combined experience across the state’s energy and infrastructure landscape — and proud to help build Alaska’s next era of prosperity.”

The lease application, the company said, “reflects an important milestone for anchoring Alaska as America’s at-scale energy solution — a meaningful step toward bringing opportunity, jobs, and revenue home to stay.”

“Stak Energy is committed to responsible development, expanding opportunity, and contributing to a more diverse and resilient Alaskan economy,” the company said.

Energy experts said that Stak’s lease application, released by the state, is thorough. But it also raises a number of questions.

One is how quickly the company can secure the natural gas-powered turbines that it would use to generate electricity. Rising demand for those turbines, prompted by the rush to build new data centers and the overall expansion of natural gas-fired power, is leading to manufacturing backlogs as long as seven years; Stak says it wants its initial operations to begin in 2028.

Then, there’s the question of where, exactly, Stak will get its natural gas supply.

Alaska’s North Slope oil fields contain huge deposits of natural gas. But historically, petroleum companies have almost exclusively extracted oil from those fields, as it’s more energy-dense and can be shipped down the 800-mile trans-Alaska pipeline; minimal infrastructure exists to move North Slope natural gas to market.

Companies presumably would be willing to sell gas to a project like Stak’s, according to Antony Scott, a former commercial petroleum analyst for the Alaska Department of Natural Resources.

But details of Stak’s land lease application makes clear that at the time it was submitted, the company hadn’t yet struck a firm deal for gas supply, he added. Stak says its gas pipeline could run anywhere between 25 and 90 miles, which implies that it could connect to any number of different petroleum fields on the North Slope.

“That means they don’t have a gas supply,” Scott said.

Scott added, though, that the project’s remote location — and the fact that it wouldn’t connect to Alaska’s urban power grid and risk driving up demand and prices for electricity, like data centers have in the Lower 48 — help smooth the project’s path.

“The issue of data centers and the effect on normal humanity’s electricity bills is causing real angst,” Scott said. On Alaska’s North Slope, he added, “we avoid all of that. You can just step into this friendly environment.”

Stak’s application and supporting material say its project has another leg up on Lower 48 developments.

Outside projects have faced increasingly strident opposition in response to their enormous consumption of water for cooling. The company says in its lease application materials that its North Slope location is a “crucial design advantage” because of an average annual temperature of 12F — allowing it to use air for cooling instead of depending on water.

Air cooling, the company says, is expected to reduce water consumption by 90% or more, “compared to industry norms.” Stak isn’t proposing any formal use for the project’s waste heat for now, but it says that “potential applications” include keeping greenhouses warm or supporting aquaculture.

One comparative disadvantage for Stak: It would be powering its computer infrastructure with fossil fuels. Some technology companies with carbon emissions targets are making efforts to run their data centers on non-fossil energy like nuclear power, wind and solar, though other projects have also tapped into natural gas.

Stak, in its application, says it’s monitoring developments in technology that could allow it to capture and store its carbon emissions. But at least initially, a dearth of infrastructure and a lack of understanding of the region’s geology for storing carbon are among the obstacles it faces, the company said.

Dunleavy’s administration, which has pushed to develop a data center industry in Alaska, has issued a preliminary, formal decision that the project is in the state’s “best interest” — a necessary step before it can issue the 50-year land lease that it’s currently considering.

The preliminary decision cites a peak construction workforce of 1,500 people, with some 60 permanent jobs that would be created by the project.

Stak will have to complete additional permitting before the project can move forward — namely, a federal Clean Water Act authorization needed to create the company’s gravel pad that will elevate its power plants and computer systems at least five feet off the tundra.

The project would require an enormous amount of gravel — some 7 million cubic yards worth, according to the state leasing documents.

That’s nearly twice as much as petroleum company ConocoPhillips is authorized to use for its big Willow oil project, Stak says.

Alaska Gov. Mike Dunleavy has named a former state legislator and longtime owner of a North Pole tourist destination known as the Santa Claus House to the council in charge of vetting and nominating state judges, among other duties. 

Dunleavy appointed Mike Miller on Apr. 28 to serve a five year term on the council, which oversees screening and nominating judges, evaluating their performance, making information available to voters and making recommendations to improve the administration of justice.

Miller’s appointment is subject to confirmation by the Alaska Legislature in a vote scheduled for Thursday morning. 

The appointment follows the resignation of another appointee, John Woods, last month amid controversy and legal challenges of his eligibility for a seat on the seven-member council.

The Alaska Judicial Council includes three non-attorneys appointed by the governor and confirmed by the Alaska State Legislature, three attorneys appointed by the Alaska Bar Association and the Chief Justice, Susan Carney. The council manages screening and listing candidates for the governor’s final approval for the offices of the supreme court justice, court of appeals, superior court judge, district court judge, public defender or administrative tax law judge. 

Miller, age 74, was appointed to a public seat for non-attorneys. He has been the owner and operator of the Santa Claus House, a tourist destination in North Pole, roughly 14 miles southeast of Fairbanks, since 1966. It boasts the world’s largest Santa statue, reindeer tours and a gift shop that sells personalized letters from Santa.

Miller was elected to the North Pole City Council in 1972, and went on to be elected to seats in the Alaska House and Senate, serving from 1982 to 2000. He served as Senate President from 1997 to 1998, according to his resume. More recently, he served on the Interior Gas Utility Board of Directors from 2019 to 2025. 

At a confirmation hearing by the Senate Judiciary committee on Wednesday, Miller answered questions from lawmakers by phone. He said he’s interested in the position as an opportunity for public service in Alaska.

“It’s been my belief that Alaska has had a very strong judiciary in the past,” he said. “I view it as, to try to, as we get the applications for the new judgeships, or the judgeships that have become available, to send the most qualified people to the governor for appointments so that we can continue to keep a long and very vibrant judiciary in the state of Alaska.”

Senate President Gary Stevens, R-Kodiak, referred to previous political attempts to change the council, and asked Miller about his thoughts on maintaining the independence of the council.

“I think it’s very important to keep the council very independent. And I think that the framers of the Constitution, you know, were pretty wise, and I’ve been fortunate that I actually knew a couple of them,” Miller said, referring to the delegates of the Alaska Constitutional Convention in 1955. “That’s what makes the system work, in my opinion, that we try to keep politics out of it and try to be things based on the law, and what the law says.”

Sen. Löki Tobin, D-Anchorage, asked Miller on his perspective in selecting judges that represent diverse ethnicities and genders, “to ensure we have breadth of experience and fair representation.” 

“I like to see the best people come forward. And I think our current law schools are turning out a lot of individual candidates who are very qualified across all ethnic groups and different diversities,” he said. “I think the guiding factor to me is, will this person in the judgeship, will they decide on issues, not necessarily on personal opinions, but what does the law say?”

Miller said it’s the role of the council to advance the most qualified candidates, and the governor will make the final decision. 

Sen. Matt Claman, D-Anchorage, asked Miller about his participation in a 2004 federal lawsuit with a political action committee that challenged Alaska rules requiring judges to be impartial. The group, Alaska Right to Life, polled Alaska judges seeking retention about their political views, including abortion and assisted suicide. Judges declined to answer the questionnaire. Alaska Right to Life claimed that impartiality rules prevented judges from answering the survey and thus suppressed their First Amendment rights. Miller was named as plaintiff in the lawsuit, which was later thrown out.

“I’ve since changed that position,” Miller said. “If they come down with a position that I disagree with, well, if they judge upon the law — so be it. Then it’s incumbent on people like myself to come to you, the Legislature, to change the law, and then you might have had a different outcome. But I have backed off from that position 25 years ago.”

One of the judges involved, Patricia Collins, who declined to answer the questionnaire, is now retired and sits on the current Alaska Judicial Council. “Would you, having been a plaintiff against her in a lawsuit, cause any difficulty for you to serve on the council with her?” Claman asked.

“No, not at all,” he said. “From my time in the political world… you’ve got to be careful about making enemies this way because — and I certainly would have no problems serving with her — because on one issue, the person debating against you on a certain issue, on the next issue may be your strongest ally. So you’ve got to be careful that, ‘Oh, just because you did this, I can’t talk to you.’ That’s ridiculous.”

Claman asked if Miller would ask about judge candidates’ positions on abortion. 

“I may have an opinion one way or the other,” Miller said. “The only concern I have: Will the person going forward judge on the law as it is written or as interpreted? I’ll be honest … I don’t think personally, that’s not an appropriate question coming from me. I would not ask that question.”

The Senate Judiciary committee advanced Miller’s confirmation without endorsement, to a vote by the joint session of the Legislature, scheduled to take place on Thursday.

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