Susitna power station

Part of the Global Coal Plant Tracker, a Global Energy Monitor project.

Download full dataset

Report an error

Related coal trackers:

Global Coal Mine Tracker Global Coal Terminals Tracker Global Coal Project Finance Tracker

Susitna power station is a power station in the pre-permit stage in Matanuska-Susitna, Alaska, United States. It is also known as Terra Energy Center power plant, West Susitna power plant, Mat-Su power plant.

Location

Table 1: Project-level location details

Plant name	Location	Coordinates (WGS 84)
Susitna power station	Matanuska-Susitna, Alaska, United States	61.781977, -151.661459 (approximate)

Loading map...

Project Details

Table 2: Unit-level details

Unit name	Status	Fuel(s)	Capacity (MW)	Technology	Emergency/Backup
Unit 1	Pre-permit	coal: unknown, bioenergy: unknown	1250	supercritical	False

Table 3: Unit-level ownership and operator details

Unit name	Owner	Parent
Unit 1	Flatlands Energy Corp [100%]	Nova Minerals Ltd [100.0%]

Project-level coal details

• Coal source(s): domestic

Ownership Tree

This ownership tree is part of the Global Energy Ownership Tracker, a project of Global Energy Monitor.

Background

Flatlands Energy Corp. proposed building a 400 MW coal- and biomass-fired power plant in the Susitna River valley region. The power plant, if built, will serve as one source of carbon emissions for Carbon Capture and Storage (CCS) testing and provide electricity to the Alaska Railbelt region.

As of December 2023, Flatlands Energy was "advancing feasibility" of the power plant and would provide a cost share of US$68,736 toward a CCS study (see below).

In February 2024, a feasibility study was published by the University of Alaska Fairbanks Institute of Northern Engineering and the University of North Dakota's Energy & Environmental Research Center. The study assumed that the power station would be built off the West Susitna Access Road near "proven coal reserves" held by Flatlands Energy. The feasibility study drew criticism from some commentators who questioned its assumptions about use of the controversial West Susitna Access Road, the estimated costs of fuel and the power plant, and the efficacy of CCS technology.

In August 2024, Flatlands Energy’s proposed power station was mentioned in a presentation on the Alaska Railbelt Carbon Capture and Storage (ARCCS) Project (see below).

According to reporting from February 2025, an affiliate of Flatlands Energy, Terra Energy Center, would build the carbon capture technology at the proposed coal plant. Terra Energy Center reportedly asked a Matanuska-Susitna Borough assembly to support the company’s application for a grant from the U.S. Department of Energy, which the company planned to submit in July 2025.

As of February 2025, a preliminary cost estimate for the coal plant was US $2.2 billion, while the carbon capture facilities were estimated at US$1.3 billion. The state’s development finance corporation was reportedly considering helping to finance the power station.

In February 2025, Flatlands Energy submitted an application to the Alaska Department of Natural Resources to conduct coal exploration activities in the Susitna Coal Basin.

In March 2026, the U.S. Department of the Interior (DOI) announced that Terra Energy Center had reached a US$1 billion in-principle agreement with Hyundai Heavy Industries Power Systems to purchase large-scale boilers for the proposed coal plant in Alaska. According to a DOI factsheet, the power station was expected to have a capacity of 1,250 MW. Reporting from March 2026 indicated that the power station would be a mine-mouth plant using lignite to subbituminous coal.

In June 2026, the U.S. Department of Energy (DOE) allocated US$89 million in funding for Terra Energy Center’s coal plant project. Under the DOE’s “Restoring Reliability: Coal Recommissioning and Modernization” program, Terra Energy Center would “assess the viability” of the proposed 1,250 MW coal plant and CCS system.

Alaska Railbelt Carbon Capture and Storage Project

In November 2023, the U.S. Department of Energy announced a US$9 million cooperative agreement for the Alaska Railbelt Carbon Capture and Storage (ARCCS) project, to be led by researchers at the University of Alaska Fairbanks.

The ARCCS project would reportedly "examine the viability of a major carbon “storage complex” in Southcentral Alaska, likely at the mostly-depleted Beluga River gas field west of Anchorage" in the Cook Inlet Basin. CO₂ captured from the proposed Susitna power station would be carried in a 60-mile pipeline to Beluga and then injected into a "geologic storage complex." In addition, the CCS project will include a study examining the technical and economic feasibility of capturing CO₂ emissions from two gas-fired power plants in the Anchorage area, the George M Sullivan Generation Plant 2 and the Southcentral power project.

Opposition

In March 2026, the mayor of Matanuska-Susitna borough vetoed a resolution that called on the borough assembly to support Terra in attracting customers for the proposed coal plant, including a potential data center. The mayor reportedly argued that the Assembly should “first review the properties involved and determine whether it supports data center development.” The Assembly later voted to override the Mayor’s veto.

Later in March 2026, a member of the Susitna River Coalition expressed concerns that Terra Energy Center aimed to build a coal plant and mine in a “pristine valley” a long distance from necessary infrastructure. In addition, an independent energy analyst in Alaska noted that the coal plant did not appear to have a power purchase agreement, and that it made “little sense” for a data center to depend on a power source that did not yet exist.

Articles and Resources

Additional data

To access additional data, including an interactive map of coal-fired power stations, a downloadable dataset, and summary data, please visit the Global Coal Plant Tracker on the Global Energy Monitor website.