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Good afternoon. It’s Wednesday, Sept. 16.

In today's newsletter:

A small Cook Inlet producer said it has secured financing to conduct drilling that should significantly boost natural gas supply in Southcentral Alaska, after the state had threatened to revoke their leases.
With fall’s lower temperatures rapidly approaching in Anchorage, municipal officials say they are taking steps to get as many homeless residents into shelters as possible.
A proposed transfer of state land to a development agency for a Mat-Su industrial park that could include data centers may not be allowed under Alaska law, according to a nonpartisan attorney for the Legislature.

In a laboratory amid Northern Virginia’s sprawling data centers, a group of scientists is looking very far outside the box for a solution to overwhelmed power grids. The idea is to overcome solar power’s biggest weakness: that it stops working when there is no sunlight. Learn more about this far-out idea that could enable solar panels to work at night here.

Anchorage weather

It's mostly sunny today with a high around 59 degrees, and there's a south wind of 15-20 mph, with gusts up to 30 mph. Starting Thursday, the forecast calls for rain through the rest of this week. Daytime highs will drop into the mid-50s over the next few days.

Here’s what else is making headlines in Alaska today.

— Megan Pacer, mpacer@adn.com

Small Cook Inlet producer says it has funds for new drilling that can help avert gas crisis in the short term →

Questions remain about a potential shortfall this winter. BlueCrest may not start producing natural gas until March, after much of the heavy demand for the gas that heats and powers homes has passed.

Anchorage adds 40 new homeless shelter beds as weather turns colder →

The new beds, opened up by the Anchorage Health Department, filled immediately this week. More are on the way, city officials say.

Nonprofit completes wilderness hut named for Anchorage ski legend Lars Spurkland →

The Alaska Mountain and Wilderness Huts Association recently finished construction on the Lars Spurkland Memorial Hut in the Placer River Valley. It’s the second hut operated by the nonprofit, and honors Spurkland, who died in 2014.

Lawmakers raise legal concerns over Mat-Su industrial park and proposed land transfer →

AIDEA wants state land for a development that could include data centers. Lawmakers say it may violate the Alaska Constitution.

SPONSORED: UAA and Premera Bring Nursing Education Home →

Presented by Premera Blue Cross Blue Shield of Alaska: Premera-supported nursing programs at UAA help rural Alaskans earn degrees and return home, strengthening trust and access to healthcare statewide.

2 die in small plane crash near Western Alaska moose camp →

The plane crashed in a forested area after taking off from a moose camp, Alaska State Troopers said. The pilot and passenger were killed.