ACEP publishes the 2024 Alaska Electricity Trends Report
August 30, 2024
Energy data in Alaska is fragmented. No one agency is in charge of maintaining records from all communities in the state. It is challenging for policy makers and researchers to view the entirety of Alaska's electric generation sector in one place. The process of seeking out individual data sources, requesting data, and correcting errors can lead to misrepresentations of the whole picture. Recently, society's increased dependence on data for forecasting and planning reveals the growing need for vetted and up-to-date statistics on the state's energy trends.
Powering up the nation's second largest island with 100% renewable energy
September 03, 2024
Kodiak Island is located 250 miles south of Anchorage and is the second-largest island in the United States. It is the first remote community in Alaska to be powered by almost 100% renewable energy year round. The utility manager - Darron Scott - tells the story of how this microgrid uses innovative storage strategies to balance hydro and wind resources on Alaska's largest remote microgrid. This is an excerpt from a forthcoming book entitled "Alaska's Energy Innovators" to be published by the University of Alaska Press.
ACEP publishes the 2024 Alaska Electricity Trends Report
August 30, 2024
Energy data in Alaska is fragmented. No one agency is in charge of maintaining records from all communities in the state. It is challenging for policy makers and researchers to view the entirety of Alaska's electric generation sector in one place. The process of seeking out individual data sources, requesting data, and correcting errors can lead to misrepresentations of the whole picture. Recently, society's increased dependence on data for forecasting and planning reveals the growing need for vetted and up-to-date statistics on the state's energy trends.
Kotzebue's legacy as a wind energy pioneer
July 12, 2024
The remarkable story of the Kotzebue energy system began with the vision of one man, Brad Reeve, the former manager of Kotzebue Electric Association (KEA). This was back in the early 1990s, and the utility scale wind market was just really beginning to get a foothold in the power generation industry. There was a healthy degree of skepticism about what role wind energy could play in commercial wind generation anywhere, let alone in an isolated community above the Arctic Circle. But Brad believed it could be done, and he set out to prove it.
To tilt or not to tilt: Comparing residential solar designs in Fairbanks
July 07, 2024
Solar arrays with tilted panels usually have a higher upfront cost to install than flush-mounted panels, but there are no analyses about the real-world effect of tilt angle on energy production. This case study compares the monthly and seasonal energy production of flush-mounted and tilted solar panels in Fairbanks to determine if mounting angle makes a significant impact on solar energy production.
A back-of-the-envelope look at how PCE and renewables interact in rural Alaska
June 28, 2024
Across the circumpolar North, interest in the creation of independent power producers (IPPs) to own and operate renewable power systems is growing. This new IPP ownership model and the integration of renewables more broadly, raise some interesting questions for Alaska's Power Cost Equalization program.
Bringing billing innovations to Alaska's most remote communities
June 03, 2024
One of the critical challenges in serving remote communities around the world with vital electricity and other infrastructure services is how to pay for such services. The following are selected excerpts from UA Press' forthcoming book Alaska's Energy Innovators that follow the story of two women who were pivotal in creating electric utilities in Alaska's smallest and most remote villages and provided the tools - through prepay metering technology - to enable these micro-utilities to become sustainable enterprises.
April 16, 2024
In mid-February, the frozen Yukon river appeared still and foreboding - large chunks of jumble ice jutting out from its surface. But underneath the ice, the water flowed. Stephanie Fisher and Leo Azizi from the Alaska Center for Energy and Power were there to measure the under-ice flow rate, the first step in determining whether locals could use this seemingly frozen river to generate electricity.
Telling the story of Alaska's electrification
April 01, 2024
As an energy and environmental historian at the 香港六合彩开奖直播, much of my research has focused on the Trans-Alaska Pipeline System (TAPS) and its historical influence in Alaska and beyond. While conducting this research I kept finding fascinating and remarkable stories of Alaska's electrification. This book provided me the opportunity to offer a narrative of Alaska's electrical history and contemplate possibilities of electric futures.
Alaska's data center opportunity: A reality check and possible next steps
February 08, 2024
The role of data centers continues to increase in the lives of ordinary citizens, large corporations and other electricity consumers across the globe. From the surge in interest and application of artificial intelligence and machine learning to the more localized needs of remote communities in Alaska, access to the Internet and cloud computing are transforming the economy and the electricity infrastructure that underpins it. Could a large data center like those seen in Iceland make sense in Alaska?
Inspiring tales of energy innovation from the top of the world
January 19, 2024
As glaciers melt and permafrost thaws, treasured species of fish such as salmon and crab decline, oil reserves wane and consumer energy bills continue to rise, Alaska is re-evaluating its energy future. The good news is that many rural Alaska communities are already leading the way towards a new energy future for the state.