Results: Calendar of Events
January 31, 2010
By Cinthia Ritchie in the Seward Phoenix LOG: If Alaska doesn’t move forward on the renewable energy front, it could lose crucial economic clout, according to Chris Rose, executive director and founder of the Renewable Energy Alaska Project. Rose, a recent guest speaker at the Anchorage Chamber of Commerce “Make it Monday” Forum, presented a program outlining the economic smarts behind renewable energy, citing that it’s inexpensive, clean and inexhaustible. It’s also local and that’s an important factor in Alaska, especially in remote villages that rely on transported fuel supplies. Read more
January 31, 2010
From Keith Bradsher at the New York Times: TIANJIN, China — China vaulted past competitors in Denmark, Germany, Spain and the United States last year to become the world’s largest maker of wind turbines, and is poised to expand even further this year. China has also leapfrogged the West in the last two years to emerge as the world’s largest manufacturer of solar panels. And the country is pushing equally hard to build nuclear reactors and the most efficient types of coal power plants. These efforts to dominate renewable energy technologies raise the prospect that the West may someday trade its dependence on oil from the Mideast for a reliance on solar panels, wind turbines and other gear manufactured in China. Read more
January 31, 2010
It’s always interesting to look across the globe and see how many places are moving toward renewable energy, even in small countries like Armenia. No matter where you look, the driving forces are the same – a desire for energy independence, the need to insulate against spikes in fossil fuel prices and a desire to switch to more clean forms of energy. Those feeling the biggest pinch on energy prices, and those with minimal domestic fossil fuel resources, which is the case in Armenia, are often leading the way.
Here’s a snippet from a recent story on renewable energy in Armenia from the Armenian weekly: In addition to the absence of domestic fossil fuel supplies and subsequent reliance on imported fuel that fluctuates in price and availability, the driving factor behind Armenia’s energy policy is an understanding that as economic development advances there will be increasing demand for energy. Armenia’s GDP has grown at an average of 10 percent over the last several years, and energy demand will increase as the population becomes more affluent and urbanized. Therefore, a proactive policy is a positive step to ensure that efficiency and renewable technologies are an integral part of the energy mix. Read more
January 31, 2010
The U.S. and Europe have led the way in renewable power, but right now China has the grandest plans
By Jonathan Fahey at Forbes magazine
The U.S. government, desperate to add jobs to a feeble economy, is looking skyward for help: to the wind and the sun. “We should put more Americans to work building clean energy facilities,” Obama said to applause during his State of the Union address Wednesday. Solar and wind power projects tend to appeal to politicians on both sides of the aisle.
They are clean and domestic sources of power, and thanks to this government largesse, they are growing fast. The American Wind Energy Association reported last week that in 2009 the nation’s wind power grew 39%, and that it has grown by 39% annually for the past five years. It’s a similar story with other technologies, like solar power, and abroad, where generous government subsidies in Europe and huge government-backed projects in India and China are fueling growth. Read more
January 28, 2010
The U.S. geothermal energy industry has a total installed capacity of 3,152.72 megawatts (MW) in states including Alaska, Hawaii, Idaho, Nevada, New Mexico, Utah, and Wyoming, and is considered the largest renewable energy power source in California, according to a new report from the Geothermal Energy Association. The report, “U.S. Geothermal Power Production and Development Update – Special NYC Forum Edition (PDF),” reveals that the U.S. continues to lead the world in geothermal energy capacity, and identifies up to 6,442.9 MW of new geothermal power plant capacity under development in the United States in those states as well as Oregon, Colorado, Florida, Louisiana and Mississippi.
January 27, 2010
A hearty welcome and a 致謝 (thankyou) to Vice Mayor Bao Chongming from Ordos, Inner Mongolia, who was in Alaska this week and met Tuesday with REAP to talk about renewable energy. Ordos, which is part of China, was recently featured in a New York Times story about the greening of China and because of plans there to build the world’s biggest plant to convert sunlight to electricity as part of a 12-gigawatt wind, solar and biomass power-generating zone.
Bao, who spoke through a translator, lives in a region rich in coal and natural gas reserves. (The area claims one sixth of China’s known coal reserves.) But he said they are moving aggressively toward renewable energy because of concerns about pollution and because they see the writing on the wall – that development and demand for power will outstrip even their expansive supply of fossil fuels. Bao said residents in Ordos already use many types of renewable energy (Solar is particularly plentiful with an average of 300 sunny days a year). The region’s herding families, who have vast spreads, rely on individual solar and wind power systems, he said. In towns, they burn municipal trash and biomass from willows to generate heat and electricity.
Bao was particularly interested in hearing about Alaska’s renewable energy efforts, as well as our knowledge about and experience with biomass and energy storage systems. REAP Executive Director Chris Rose told him about Alaska’s many resources from geothermal to tidal to wind; Unisea’s work in Dutch Harbor burning fish oil leftover from processing to produce electricity; and ongoing efforts to improve energy storage systems. He also noted Alaska’s emerging status as a world leader in wind-diesel hybrid energy systems that supply power through a melding of diesel engines and wind turbines. Alaska is on the leading edge of developing and improving these systems with more than 10 already installed in villages around the state. The systems are insulating the villages against spikes in diesel prices, and, at the same time, attracting great interest because of their potential for use in places throughout the developing world.
The meeting ended with reciprocal invitations to travel to Ordos and for Vice Mayor Bao to return trip to visit Alaska in the summertime. Good luck to Vice Mayor Bao, and to fellow travelers – Wai Moy and Jimmy Zhao – on the rest of their journey.
January 27, 2010
By Rena Delbridge at Alaska Dispatch: Summer 2008′s record-breaking oil prices may have left Alaska’s treasury flush, but they also sounded a wake-up call — the people of the state were hurting under crippling fuel costs. Lawmakers promised to do something to assure reliable, affordable energy for Alaskans — starting with an energy policy. While world oil prices have leveled out, Alaska’s reliance on fossil fuels has lawmakers looking for long-term solutions to wean the state off the single source and onto reliable, affordable alternatives. Read more
January 26, 2010
From the U.S. Department of Energy: The wholesale electricity marketplace may have an influential new middleman if Google gets approval next month to buy and sell energy. The Internet giant’s subsidiary, Google Energy LLC, filed for approval from the Federal Energy Regulatory Commission (FERC) in late December. According to the Washington Post, Google is seeking ways to lower costs for its energy-intensive data centers. What this means for wholesale energy prices remains to be seen. Read more
February 10, 2010
9:00 am to 4:45 pm
Session 1: Wed, February 10, 9:00 a.m. – 11:45 a.m.
Rethinking Rural Communities–Applying GI/GB in Alaska
While relocating a village presents a tremendous challenge in terms of financial, emotional, and physical resources, it also presents an opportunity to consider and incorporate principals of sustainable design. In this fun, interactive session, attendees will provide their ideas to plan a new rural community using sustainable design principles. We will begin by providing a brief overview of green infrastructure and green building ideas, then present the critical issues facing rural communities in five Alaska climate zones. Attendees will break into small groups and, discussing each issue, will develop new sustainable solutions. Each issue will be addressed based on location within the state.
Session 2: Wed, February 10, 2:00 p.m. – 3:15 p.m.
Sustainability as it Applies to Village Relocation
This session will present ideas for the use of sustainable design principles in village relocation projects. The importance of community involvement and historic references will be illustrated.
Session 3: Wed, February 10, 3:30 p.m. – 4:45 p.m.
Green Infrastructure and Green Building in Alaska This session will provide an update of Green Infrastructure plans begun last year in Fairbanks and elsewhere in the State. We will also discuss the progress of Green Building in our State.
For information about the Green Infrastructure / Green Building track call or e-mail Ann Rappoport (907)271-2787 Ann_Rappoport@fws.gov or Lauri Strauss (907)770-4352 lstrauss@kpbarchitects.com
January 26, 2010
From Chris Eshleman at the Fairbanks Daily News-Miner: A boost to applied energy research — tests of solar hot water systems, for example, or hydrokinetic energy — would nudge Alaska toward the leading edge in research into experimental energy under a plan being pitched in Juneau, researchers said Monday. That work, they said, would serve as a companion to ongoing state investment in renewable energy development in Alaska and could position the state at the doorstep of an accelerating alternative energy marketplace. Read more
