JUNEAU — The Fairbanks Economic Development Corp. asked the Legislature’s Interior delegation on Thursday to back a joint venture aimed at trucking North Slope natural gas to Fairbanks.

Jim Dodson, president of FEDC, said the project would lower energy costs as much as alternatives and do it five years sooner.

Dodson asked the 11-member delegation to help secure state-backed financing for the project. That factor could shave borrowing costs considerably.

Dodson said the value of a five-year advantage makes the project more valuable than other options on policy makers’ table.

Fairbanks Natural Gas Co. President Dan Britton and Alaska Gasline Port Authority Chairman Jim Whitaker have led work on the trucking project. They hope the authority can issue roughly $250 million in bonds this year to finance the purchase of the gas company.

Dodson said his analysis suggests the trucking plan is the “bridge” project Fairbanks needs before a larger project, such as a proposed natural gas pipeline, comes along.

“The biggest risk we have is to do nothing,” he told the delegation Thursday. He said he worked with former Alaska Energy Authority Executive Director Steve Haagenson and with university researchers to produce and review the analysis.

Rep. Bob Miller, D-Fairbanks, said the corporation’s numbers may justify state involvement.

“God knows we need a quick fix,” he said, referring to chronically high energy costs.

The corporation’s analysis compared the proposed trucking project to a pipeline plan being pitched by the Fairbanks Pipeline Co. That firm, affiliated with Energia Cura, has proposed selling stock to finance a pipeline project between the North Slope and the Fairbanks area.

Whitaker estimated last month the publicly controlled port authority could borrow at a 7 percent interest rate for the project. But Dodson said Thursday that the Alaska Energy Authority could finance the project through a special power fund and shave that borrowing rate significantly. That, he said, would lower retail prices for natural gas.

The Alaska Industrial Development and Export Authority reviewed the trucking project two years ago and cited potential hurdles. AIDEA is a sister agency to the state energy authority, with identical board members and shared staff. A spokesman for the agencies said last month that AIDEA had not been formally approached for financial help with the proposal.

FEDC estimates the greater Fairbanks area collectively pays $618 million per year in energy costs, mostly for space heating. Dodson said that’s an unsustainable collective cost that will inhibit economic development until addressed.

John Davies, a former state lawmaker, attended Thursday’s meeting and agreed with Dodson’s conclusions. He said a two-year-old analysis of Fairbanks Natural Gas’ infrastructure suggests the community’s natural gas distribution system could expand simply and inexpensively. He said separate distribution systems could be developed for Fairbanks and North Pole.

Dodson said the expansion proposed by AGPA and Fairbanks Natural Gas also would address persistent air pollution by switching more households from wood heat to natural gas.

Fairbanks North Star Borough Mayor Luke Hopkins, also a board director for the port authority, said he concurred with the corporation’s conclusion. He said the Fairbanks community needs to agree on a project that lowers the cost of energy and increases the volume of gas.

Dodson said Fairbanks Natural Gas has negotiated a long-term supply contract with Exxon Mobil.

“That’s worth something,” he said, citing the deal as one of a handful of reasons the proposal has a leg up on alternatives.

Contact staff writer Christopher Eshleman at 459-7582.