GVEA Continues Assessment of Shovel Creek Wind Development

August 1, 2025 - Golden Valley Electric Association's (GVEA) Board of Directors has decided not to sign a commercial term sheet for power purchases for the proposed Shovel Creek Wind project by the July 31 deadline requested by the project developer. The request for the term sheet deadline comes after recent changes from the United States Government that expedite the deadline for tax credit eligibility and the timelines for permitting the project.

The Shovel Creek Wind Project is a large-scale wind farm proposed to be built in the Murphy Dome area near Fairbanks. The project would be built, owned, and operated by the developer who would sell power to GVEA. GVEA has been working on studies for the Shovel Creek Wind Project over the last several months, with the studies reviewing various sizes of the project to ensure the project can safely and reliability delivery energy to GVEA members.

After extensive discussion during the July 28 special board meeting, the Board determined that GVEA is not in a position to execute the term sheet at this time, due to the following key concerns:

• Uncertainty around eligibility for federal tax credits and safe harbor provisions, which are critical to lowering the project's energy costs to members and could ultimately place financial risk (up to an additional 50% of the project cost) onto GVEA's membership if not received;

• The need to finalize the on-going Production Cost Model (PCM), the purpose of which allows GVEA to understand the long-term cost-effectiveness of the project, at the final project size, both with and without the tax credits;

"Without the PCM results and clearer guidance from federal agencies, making a firm commercial commitment now would place significant risk on our membership," said GVEA Board Chair Tom DeLong.

While not proceeding with the term sheet under the expedited timeline requested, GVEA is committed to continuing our review of the project. "We support ongoing work to refine the proposal and gather the data needed to make a fully informed decision," said GVEA President & CEO Travis Million. "While we recognize that some are frustrated by the pace of GVEA's efforts, these studies are critical to ensuring that we do not negatively impact the reliability of our system, the Railbelt, and that we know the full cost and benefits or risks to our membership before a decision is made." DeLong provided.

GVEA remains committed to pursuing reliable projects that provide long-term economic and environmental benefits to the communities it serves. This includes pursuing the review of any projects interested in interconnecting with GVEA that can provide reliable, safe and economic power to our members and continuing to pursue funding avenues for federal awards towards generation and transmission projects. For more updates regarding GVEA's generation efforts, continue to watch for information on GVEA's website, social media, and at our monthly Board meetings.

Media Contact:

Abby Dillard [email protected]

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