Alaska’s push for a second high-voltage line linking the two ends of the Railbelt got a $150 million federal boost this week. The U.S. Department of Energy announced Monday, Oct. 5, that it will help fund the Beluga-Healy Transmission Project, a backup to the lone intertie that has carried power north to Fairbanks since the 1980s. Construction is not expected to begin until after 2030.

The money comes from the Defense Production Act and a $1 billion pool Congress set aside for energy projects tied to national security. Most of Alaska’s military bases get their power through the existing line. The project is estimated at $418 million. Curtis Thayer, executive director of the Alaska Energy Authority, said the federal grant will most likely pay for engineering, planning and permitting, and the remaining $268 million could come from further federal grants, state funds or authority loans.

Thayer said the award came as a surprise. The authority has worked on the plan for nearly five years but hadn’t intended to proceed until other upgrades were finished, including transmission links tied to the renovated Bradley Lake hydroelectric project.

Today’s intertie mainly sends cheaper hydropower and natural-gas power from Southcentral up to Fairbanks. A second line would raise the amount of electricity that can move between the regions in either direction and would keep the grid connected while the first line is rebuilt. It could also open the door to wind and solar projects.