Results: Calendar of Events
December 28, 2009
From Rena Delbridge at Alaska Dispatch: Southcentral’s 350,000 residents are snug this winter in homes with plenty of heat and Christmas lights twinkling. But the sense of security fed by light and warmth is a false one in the state’s major population area, where utilities are a step or two away from rolling power outages if the weather turns bitter cold — cold enough to put out of order the complex metal machinery that pushes natural gas through lines and into homes; cold enough to push demand off the charts. And by the winter of 2011-12, deliverability could be an issue beyond peak demand in the coldest spells. Read more
December 26, 2009
From Rena Delbridge at Alaska Dispatch: Massive initial interest in a state program to help people make their homes more energy efficient could be tapering off, even as some areas of the state face the likelihood of increased home heating costs in coming years. As of Dec. 16, nearly 19,000 Alaskans have started the multi-step Home Energy Rebate Program funded by Gov. Sarah Palin and the Legislature and managed by the Alaska Housing Finance Corp. Read more
December 26, 2009
From Alex Demarban in the Tundra Drums: Two Western Alaska villages spinning power from small wind turbines say they’re saving thousands of dollars a year. “I’m still amazed at what they’re doing,” said Gerald Kosbruk, president of the tribal government in Perryville on the southern Alaska Peninsula. Read more
January 4, 2010
January 4 – 15 (ON-LINE COURSE)
FAIRBANKS – ES 166-FQ1 ELECTRIC CAR CONVERSION will be taught by MICHAEL GOLUB from 6 to 10pm Mon through Fri and online. This is a credit 2 course. To see the syllabus, go to http://www.uaf.edu/summer/courses/course-syllabi/2010_wintermester/ES166.pdf For more information, contact Michael at migolub@alaska.edu or 907-347-4363.
December 23, 2009
Wind turbines on Banner Hill (photo courtesy Jerald Brown)
Congratulations to Banner Wind LLC in Nome, which on Monday(Dec. 28) will sign a power purchase agreement with the city utility for its 18 wind turbines. The Entegrity EW50 turbines were installed on Banner Ridge near Nome in 2009, have a total capacity of 1.17 MW and could displace up to 125,000 gallons of diesel fuel a year, according to Jerald Brown, Vice President of Bering Straits Native Corporation. The corporation is a partner in the project.
The turbines have been providing power to the utility – the Nome Joint Utility System – for the past couple months, but the power purchase agreement formalizes that arrangement. Under the terms of the agreement, Banner Wind will initially receive 18 cents a kWh for the wind power, a rate based on the current cost of diesel fuel. The rate will be adjusted over time as fuel prices fluctuate. Banner Wind LLC is jointly owned by Bering Straits Native Corporation, and area village corporation Sitnasuak Native Corporation.
Video of Nome wind turbines (.wmv)
December 23, 2009
*This story’s interactive graphics showing the different techniques to make energy-neutral buildings are worth a click. Lots of good ideas.
From Jim Carlton at the Wall Street Journal: The green building movement is targeting a goal once thought virtually unattainable: zero net energy use. While the trend is nascent, dozens of “net zero” and “near net zero” developments — projects designed to use only about as much power from the public grid as they can save or produce on their own — have sprung up across the U.S. over the past five years.
In Greenfield, Mass., nonprofit Rural Development Inc. has completed eight of 20 planned duplex homes that use almost no net energy. In Berkeley, Calif., ZETA Communities Inc. plans to build a 30-unit net-zero apartment building after opening a factory that can construct 400 to 500 prefabricated net-zero homes a year. And in Green Valley, Ariz., builder Pepper Viner Homes says it plans to incorporate green techniques into a senior housing community so that it reduces energy use more than 50%. U.S. officials are working to wean federal buildings off fossil fuel by 2020, a step they say will help the buildings become almost net-zero energy users. Read more
December 22, 2009
REAP Note: It’s not possible to keep up with all the technology development in solar, wind, tidal, biomass. Here’s a pretty cool one from Sandia National Laboratories.
Representative thin crystalline-silicon photovoltaic cells – these are from 14 to 20 micrometers thick and 0.25 to 1 millimeter across. (Image by Murat Okandan)
Sandia National Laboratories scientists have developed tiny glitter-sized photovoltaic cells that could revolutionize the way solar energy is collected and used. The tiny cells could turn a person into a walking solar battery charger if they were fastened to flexible substrates molded around unusual shapes, such as clothing.The solar particles, fabricated of crystalline silicon, hold the potential for a variety of new applications. They are expected eventually to be less expensive and have greater efficiencies than current photovoltaic collectors that are pieced together with 6-inch- square solar wafers. Read more
December 22, 2009
A note from REAP: The state Division of Oil and Gas today released what will be a widely read report that attempts to estimate just how much natural gas is left in Cook Inlet. It’s an important issue worth looking at in more detail so we’re posting the report here and we’ve summarized some of the key points in it below.
The report’s conclusion is there probably quite a bit of gas left, including in as yet undiscovered fields, but the question is what it will cost to get it and what other options are available such as renewable power. The issue is of concern because Southcentral Alaska depends on natural gas – 90 percent of our electricity comes from natural gas and most of our heat – and we’re running low on deliverable supplies. The legislature is also looking at whether we should diversify by developing other energy sources such as hydro and geothermal.
Division of Oil and Gas Director Kevin Banks, in a memo he transmitted with the report, acknowledged the uncertainties about the cost of accessing more natural gas, and the need for more conservation and diversification of our energy sources.
“Continuing current efforts at energy conservation and efficiency will create economic benefits. Steady and deliberate conversion to alternative energy sources will result long-term in a more diverse and reliable energy grid. The local market took some time to degrade and will take a bit of time and a lot of effort to recover. Cooperation and coordination among all of the stakeholders is critical.
Consumers relying upon Cook Inlet natural gas to meet their energy needs should know that while there is no need to panic, there is also no time to waste. Although it is apparent that sufficient reserves remain to provide for railbelt(sic) needs for the coming decade or more, the cost of providing energy to these same consumers is likely to rise. The low-hanging fruit in the Cook Inlet has largely been picked and as such one thing seems clear—the basin is not running out of gas but it could well be running out of cheap gas. Investments in storage development, reserves replacement and pipeline infrastructure will place additional upward pressure on consumer energy prices.”
There was lots more of interest in the report. The caveats by the authors about the report and the data in it are also worth noting. Continue reading ‘How much gas is really left in Cook Inlet? Probably a good amount, but it could be costly’
December 21, 2009
From Alan Bailey at the Petroleum News: The Alaska Energy Authority has published a draft regional integrated resource plan that presents options and recommendations for the future of electricity power generation, transmission and demand management in Alaska’s Railbelt. The plan, commissioned from consultants Black & Veatch, is intended to provide guidance to policy makers regarding infrastructure upgrades and the appropriate mix of energy sources for power generation in the Railbelt over the next 50 years, and forms part of a package of Railbelt energy-related documents and ideas heading for the upcoming legislative session, as lawmakers and the state administration try to grapple with a series of major energy issues impacting the state. Read more
Also more info on the plan, including a recent presentation by Jim Strandberg, of the Alaska Energy Authority, is on our website here
December 18, 2009
From KUCB in Unalaska: UNALASKA, AK (kucb) – The wind storm that knocked over the crane had similar negative effects on the local residential wind-powered electric generators. The storm, which blew at least 125 miles per hour, completely dislodged the helix shaped turbine that was installed on Haystack hill. The blades and shaft blew away and were later located by divers. The tower stayed up. Helix, the company that built the turbine, is sending a new unit to replace the destroyed one. Helix CEO Ian Gardner said they are also sending a wind monitoring system.
“The real problem here was that the customers didn’t have a way to monitor wind speed in real time. They didn’t realize that they were reaching the upper threshold of the design limit and have the opportunity to shut the unit down,” he explained. “Because I believe the original storm forecast were for wind speeds in the 40, 50, 60 mile per hour range, and it ended up being double that.” Read more
