It sounds almost too good to be true -- but a new plan by an Alaska Native corporation to tap into coal's rich energy without actually mining could be a viable energy solution for the Southcentral region as its old standby, natural gas, becomes less and less reliable.

Cook Inlet Region Inc. unveiled plans on Friday to develop land it owns on the west side of Cook Inlet for energy, but in an unconventional way. CIRI wants to use underground coal gasification to tap into the rich power of seams 55 feet thick -- without physically touching the coal or moving earth. Instead, they plan to inject oxygen into the seam to spark combustion, essentially igniting the coal seam. Water follows, squelching the reaction and pushing out syn gas, or coal gas.

By the time the project would be operating in early 2014, CIRI thinks it would produce a product competitive with today's low energy prices in Southcentral. That's even if the state pursues plans to build an in-state natural gas line from the North Slope.

"We believe that the ultimate power cost would be competitive with today's rate of power here in the Inlet," CIRI project manager and senior vice president Ethan Schutt told legislators on Friday. "And we can do so without coming to the state and asking for public money."

It's an intriguing possibility as Southcentral looks for a new energy source. Natural gas is dwindling, and gas utility Enstar is having trouble meeting demand at peak times during the winter. Anchorage residents have been warned recently that a severe cold spell this winter could trigger conservation measures, including rolling outages.

State Sen. Lesil McGuire, R-Anchorage, said she was briefed on CIRI's plans a couple of weeks ago, and has vetted the technology since.

"There's a part of you, responsibly, that looks at it and says ‘what are the downsides?'" she said, acknowledging she found few. "It's not the panacea for all electric generation. But Anchorage residents have truly experienced something that they haven't in 15 years, which is a crisis in confidence. They are worried about the winter. This is really good news for Alaskans."

At the surface, CIRI proposes capturing coal's main pollutant, carbon dioxide, before sending the gas to a 100-megawatt combined cycle power plant, also to be built on CIRI's land. By capturing carbon pre-combustion, CIRI can avoid costly power plant scrubbers. Electricity would flow into the Railbelt grid. Methane can be added to syn gas to create natural gas.

The carbon would likely be sold to oil companies for enhanced oil recovery. Traditional oil production leaves behind plenty of petroleum that wasn't economical to coax out in the first run. Enhanced oil recovery involves injecting water or carbon dioxide into the oil fields, where the pressure pushes oil up.

CIRI estimates that the underground coal gasification setup could cost roughly $30 million, and is planning on about $150 million to build the power plant. Other costs are expected to firm up over the next year pending results from a drilling program that helps define the coal, the geology and more.

Both technologies -- pre-combustion carbon capture and sequestration, as well as underground coal gasification -- are proven, but not commercially used together in the U.S.

CIRI says the technology would have minimal environmental impact. The on-the-ground footprint involves little surface disturbance. Their plans steer clear of underground aquifers, and they’re hopeful a solid project will reduce pressure to explore and develop new areas. Officials are careful to point out that underground coal gasification is a far cry from coal mining or coalbed methane extraction -- both activities that have drawn strong opposition from environmentalists.

State Rep. Jay Ramras, R-Fairbanks, said he's heard it all in recent years -- proposals to grow algae in giant plastic tanks, a plan to ship liquefied natural gas on foreign-flagged tankers to Baja California -- but he thinks this just might work.

"We have heard the spectrum here, and I think your presentation strikes a chord of practicality and of do-ability," he told Schutt.