Results: Calendar of Events
October 9, 2009
A report by Elizabeth Bluemink at the Anchorage Daily News: An Anchorage Native corporation said this morning it aims to build a new power plant on the west side of Cook Inlet, using coal instead of the region’s dwindling natural gas to produce electricity. The 100-megawatt plant would rely on an emerging but proven technology that doesn’t require the coal to be mined. Instead, the coal would be transformed into gas underground, according to officials from Cook Inlet Region Inc., which owns several hundred thousand acres in the vast Beluga coal fields. Read more
Rena Delbridge at Alaska Dispatch also has this report on the project.
October 9, 2009
From KFSK radio in Petersburg: The city of Angoon has won a preliminary permit for studying a proposed power plant at Scenery Creek, in Thomas Bay north of Petersburg. The spot is one of three sites in the remote mainland bay under consideration for power generation. Angoon’s permit application says the city would sell power to Petersburg, Wrangell and Ketchikan with money from those sales helping to reduce the cost of power generation in Angoon. Hear more
October 9, 2009
An interesting story out of the Oregonian today about a greenhouse installing a solar system that will be used heat water in a super-insulated 300,000 gallon tank that will stay warm for months at a time. (Yes, you read those numbers right.) The water, which will replace natural gas heat, will be circulated underground and be used to keep the plants at the Blooming Nursery warm and growing. The story says it will be Oregon’s largest application of solar thermal energy. To read the full story go here.
The system is so immense and the tank so well-insulated that it will retain heat for months at a time. Dinsdale expects to use her existing natural gas heating system only as a backup. She’ll continue to use natural gas in two other large greenhouses.
October 9, 2009
From Renewable Energy World.com: At the opening of the U.S. Department of Energy’s (DOE) Solar Decathlon on the National Mall this week, Energy Secretary Steven Chu announced up to US $87 million will be made available to support the development of new solar energy technologies. The selected projects will help accelerate the commercialization of solar technologies in an effort to achieve cost-competitive solar electricity by 2015. The (47)projects selected for negotiation of awards are in four categories:
- High Penetration Solar Deployment. Seven projects will model, test, and evaluate the impact of large amounts of photovoltaic (PV) electricity on the reliability and stability of the electric power system.
- Solar America Cities Special Projects. Sixteen cities have been selected for projects that will address specific barriers to solar adoption in urban settings and support innovative approaches that can be widely replicated. Many cities will use this funding for multiple efforts.
- Solar Installer Training. Nine colleges, universities, and local organizations have been selected to lead regional solar installation “train-the-trainer” programs.
- Research projects at DOE national laboratories. Fifteen projects at DOE national laboratories will seek to improve technologies, devices and processes for both the PV and Concentrating Solar Power (CSP) industry. Read more
Also of interest is this related article on a Maine college receiving some of the funding lead a regional training program for solar energy installers.
October 9, 2009
From the Juneau Empire: Republican Gov. Sean Parnell backed former Gov. Sarah Palin’s veto of $28.6 million in energy stimulus funding, but is willing to accept the money after the Legislature overrode the veto in an August special session. Now that he’s decided to spend the money, some of it is slated for the Governor’s Mansion in Juneau to improve energy efficiency. In addition to the Governor’s Mansion, other high-profile buildings that may get efficiency projects are the state-owned Atwood Building in Anchorage and the Fairbanks Regional Office Building. All the projects must be cost-effective to eventually win funding, OMB said. Read more
October 8, 2009
From the July 2009 edition of the Associated General Contractors of Alaska’s Contractor magazine: The state of Alaska has completed its first two rounds of renewable energy project evaluation and funding approvals, authorizing reimbursement of $125 million for more than 100 projects throughout the state. Passed by state legislators in 2008, the Renewable Energy Grant Program calls for a total of $250 million in state spending on energy projects over five years. The first $100 million for 77 project reimbursements was approved by the state Legislative Budget and Audit Committee in late February, the first round of the new energy program. To read more, go here and click on “July, 2009.”
October 5, 2009
A dam on the Susitna River is one of several options being talked about for a long-term energy solution for Southcentral Alaska. The Fairbanks Daily News-Miner reports on a state-funded study due out next spring on the idea and includes an interesting historical timeline that dates the first recommendation for the dam back to 1961.
Talk of the long-discussed proposal to dam the Susitna River for electricity is again circling Fairbanks. Democratic Sen. Joe Thomas is presenting details of the proposal to groups in Fairbanks three months before next spring’s legislative session. And state energy specialists are studying the project more than two decades after a 1980s economic bust left plans on the shelf. Read more
October 5, 2009
This story on examiner.com is a good starter article for information if you’re thinking about small-scale wind. The story gives a general price range: “As far as pricing is concerned, Chiras explained that small one kilowatt systems (total package) range in price from $12,000-$15,000. Medium systems (2-6 kW) cost $20,000-$60,000 (average is $30,000). While the larger small wind systems (10-20 kW) can cost $50,000-$80,000.” Read more
October 4, 2009
A column from a retired Vice Admiral on why Alaska is uniquely poised to be a national leader on renewable energy: One hardly need tell Alaskans about global warming and climate change. Alaska is, in many ways, ground zero for obvious climate change impacts — reduced pack ice in the Arctic Ocean, loss of permafrost, major shifts in bird and wildlife behavior and plant disease vectors related to climate change. The great efforts going on right now to relocate the village of Newtok are indicative of the challenges to come in a future of global warming. Read more
Join legendary outdoorsman Dick Griffith for a presentation on his 250-mile trek along the coast from Glacier Bay to Copper River at the Eagle River Nature Center at 2 p.m. Points of interest along the way are Lituya Bay and the crossing of LaPerouse Glacier. Free program; $5 parking for non-members.
