Results: Calendar of Events
June 13, 2009 to June 14, 2009
Learn the latest homebrew techniques to lower costs, improve safety and increase yields in your biodiesel process. We will cover farm-scale production, ethanol-based biodiesel, high-FFA oils, methanol recovery, glycerine processing, and acid-catalyzed esterification procedures. This workshop requires prior experience or attendance at the Biodiesel Production Crash Course (or similar 2-day class). More info here or call Arctic Vegwerks at 688-5288.
June 11, 2009 10:00 am to June 12, 2009 5:00 pm
Looking to make free fuel?
Everything from collecting oil to building your own full-sized reactor will be covered in this comprehensive 2-day biodiesel crash course.
Go here for more info or call Arctic Vegwerks at 688-5288
June 5, 2009
With an aging energy infrastructure, rising energy costs, and increasing concerns about the economic and social effects of climate change, energy experts are looking to a new type of technology that integrates the digital age with the electric age.
The “smart grid” has become the buzz of the electric power industry, at the White House and among members of Congress. President Barack Obama says it’s essential to boost development of wind and solar power, get people to use less energy and to tackle climate change.
What smart grid visionaries see coming are home thermostats and appliances that adjust automatically depending on the cost of power; where a water heater may get juice from a neighbor’s rooftop solar panel; and where on a scorching hot day a plug-in hybrid electric car charges one minute and the next sends electricity back to the grid to help head off a brownout
It is where utilities get instant feedback on a transformer outage, shift easily among energy sources, integrating wind and solar energy with electricity from coal-burning power plants, and go into homes and businesses to automatically adjust power use based on prearranged agreements.
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June 5, 2009
Legislative leaders are asking the federal government how long they have to decide whether to override Gov. Sarah Palin’s veto of $28.56 million in energy aid — and whether an override is worth the trouble if they have to rely on the governor to accept the funds.
An override would require a three-fourths majority of the Legislature, or 45 votes. House Democrats announced they would vote to overturn the governor’s action. Sen. President Gary Stevens, R-Kodiak, said his bipartisan majority caucus is disappointed in the veto, but he can’t rationalize calling a special session without a guarantee that the Legislature can accept the money without Palin’s OK. Sen. Gene Therriault, R-North Pole, said some within his four-person minority are dismayed Palin rejected the funds.
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June 5, 2009
The Senate Energy Committee is working its way through a massive draft energy bill that focuses heavily on renewable power. Tomorrow the committee will gather to “mark-up” or debate and amend the legislation. Their focus will be a national renewable electricity standard.
Download the audio report here
June 5, 2009
When the first session of Alaska’s 26th Legislature comes to a close this weekend, elected officials will have introduced more than 400 bills. As of Wednesday, they had passed about ten. A last-minute flurry of legislation is status quo, but a boatload of ideas will still be put on ice until the second session begins in January 2010.
One bill meant to trigger energy efficiency projects in state-owned buildings will likely be one of those revisited during the second session. Senate Bill 121, and the state House version HB 148, seem to have bi-partisan support, appealing to liberals who want to reduce the collective carbon footprint and conservatives who want to save the state money, even if they’re suspicious of whether carbon footprints are a genuine concern. These bills enact into law efficiency standards for public facilities that saved the state about $360,000 on utility bills in an eight building pilot project. Next year it is estimated that the eight buildings will save the state more than a half million dollars.
REAP Executive Director Chris Rose gives his opinion on the bill.
June 5, 2009
On May 21, the U.S. House of Representatives Energy and Commerce Committee approved H.R. 2454, “The American Clean Energy and Security Act,” by a vote of 33 to 25. The legislation is a comprehensive approach to America’s energy policy that charts a new course towards a clean energy economy. The American Clean Energy and Security Act will create millions of new clean energy jobs, save consumers hundreds of billions of dollars in energy costs, enhance America’s energy independence, and cut global warming pollution.
The bill includes:
- A clean energy title that promotes renewable sources of energy, carbon capture and sequestration technologies, clean electric vehicles, and the smart grid and electricity transmission.
- An energy efficiency title that increases energy efficiency across all sectors of the economy, including buildings, appliances, transportation, and industry.
- A global warming title that places limits on emissions of heat-trapping pollutants. This legislation would cut global warming pollution by 17% compared to 2005 levels in 2020, by 42% in 2030, and by 83% in 2050. These are science-based targets and within the range agreed to by USCAP.
- A title that protects U.S. consumers and industry and promotes green jobs during the transition to a clean energy economy.
Read the summary here
Full text
June 5, 2009
Naknek Electric Association, banking on a decade of geothermal research and planning, is preparing to drill an exploration well near King Salmon, in a multi-million dollar project with potential to provide power to 28 villages in Southwest Alaska.
The project would be the first utility-grade geothermal development in Alaska. The initial cost estimate for the generation plant and 450 miles of transmission line interconnecting regional villages is $200 million, NEA officials said. The initial load would be 18 megawatts, with full potential to use 25 megawatts within two years. Estimates are that use of geothermal power could cut the cost of power production by 70 percent.
Read more.
June 5, 2009
A group of young Alaskans gathered signatures in support of the development of renewable energy and the adoption of a national Renewable Energy Standard (RES). They presented the resolutions to Senator Lisa Murkowski, a key figure on the Senate Energy Committee, as Congress considers mandating an RES of 25% of by 2025.
Read more.
June 5, 2009
Lawmakers are urging Governor Palin to reconsider her plan to reject $28.6 million for enerygy programs.
Alaska legislators argue Gov. Sarah Palin is overstating the strings attached to federal stimulus money she’s planning to reject. But Palin isn’t backing down, saying she doesn’t want the money because it requires a state energy code.
“We shouldn’t have to change our local laws to accept more of this federal package, as the feds already control much of our young state, thus prohibiting our opportunities to responsibly develop,” Palin said in an e-mail. The Legislature last month voted overwhelmingly to accept all of the stimulus funds — including the energy money, with legislative leaders saying they saw few of the strings that the governor expressed worry about.
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