Results: Calendar of Events
February 9, 2011
6:00 pm to 8:00 pm
6-8pm • Anchorage Museum, 625 C Street • FREE
Podcast available: https://www1.gotomeeting.com/register/112644144
Alaskans are facing tough choices about our energy sources. Should we build a dam on the Susitna River? Tap Mt. Spurr for geothermal power? Or bring natural gas from the North Slope? What’s the best choice and how do we decide? Come hear the answers at REAP’s FREE monthly forum. Energy consultant Mark Foster will provide an interactive, quantitative presentation where he will take a look at those choices, the numbers behind them and engage the audience to vote on the factors that influence which energy source they believe provide the best choice in the long run. More information on the presentation and Mark’s extensive energy background here
January 27, 2011
From RenewableEnergyWorld.com: In an unprecedented move, last night U.S. President Barack Obama put clean energy front and center on the agenda of the American government — calling for an 80% clean energy target by 2035.
In his yearly State of the Union address to the nation’s lawmakers, Obama said that it is time for America to invest in the energy of the future and stop supporting the energy of the past. He called on Congress to remove all subsidies for fossil fuels and to reinvest the money saved into clean energy initiatives.
The President said that he hopes America can obtain 80% of its energy from clean sources by 2035, the most aggressive target ever set forth by a president. While renewable energy supporters were thrilled with the bold target, they were reminded during the speech that Obama’s idea of clean energy is broad: His target includes nuclear energy, clean coal and natural gas, in addition to traditional renewables like wind, solar, biomass, geothermal and hydro.
“Some folks want wind and solar. Others want nuclear, clean coal, and natural gas,” he said. “To meet this goal, we will need them all – and I urge Democrats and Republicans to work together to make it happen.”
Here are some reactions from industry leaders:
Denise Bode, CEO of the American Wind Energy Association, was in the House chamber for the speech and was happy with the President’s call to level the energy playing field.
“Wind energy can deliver right now on its promise to deliver new electricity to Americans more affordably than any other energy source, if we have a level playing field to compete with the permanent entitlements that fossil fuels have enjoyed for over 90 years,” Bode said.
She was cautiously optimistic about the broad-based “clean energy standard,” saying that AWEA looks forward to reviewing the proposal. Read more
January 27, 2011
From the Homer News: Homer Electric Association and four other Railbelt utilities have joined to form the Alaska Railbelt Cooperative Transmission and Electric Company, or ARCTEC.
Representatives from HEA, Chugach Electric, Matanuska Electric, Golden Valley Electric (Fairbanks) and the City of Seward participated in the organization’s inaugural meeting in Anchorage on Jan 7.
ARCTEC is envisioned as a vehicle to advance large scale renewable generation and transmission projects that are beyond the scope of individual utilities, according to a press release from HEA. A similar effort was pursued at the legislative level last year in the form of the Greater Railbelt Energy and Transmission Corporation, or GRETC,
However, the GRETC bill was unable to gather enough support and failed to make it out of the legislative session that ended in April. Following the demise of GRETC, utility representatives held a series of meetings to create an entity that could represent the utilities on regional generation and transmission issues, according to the release.
The purpose of ARCTEC can be found in the organization’s Articles of Incorporation which state, “It is anticipated that ARCTEC will facilitate the development of energy sources with participating Railbelt utilities and the State of Alaska, and effective combinations of these entities.” Read more
January 25, 2011
By Patti Epler of Alaska Dispatch: Alaska may have trillions of cubic feet of natural gas buried in the earth on the North Slope, offshore in the Arctic, and beneath the waters of Cook Inlet, but the state may soon be importing it from Outside to keep the lights on in Southcentral.
Railbelt utilities and the Alaska Natural Gas Development Authority are studying the cost and other issues surrounding the import of liquefied natural gas (LNG). The state agency is coordinating with the utilities and expects its report to be ready before the end of the legislative session, said ANGDA chief executive Harold Heinze.
He acknowledges the idea has a “bringing coals to Newcastle” feel. “But if it’s that or the lights go out, the (utilities) are pretty good with the idea of keeping the lights on,” Heinze said.
Joe Griffith, general manager of Matanuska Electric Association, has been warning business groups and others that the utilities need a new supply of gas. And they need it before any long-term project — like a big gas line from the North Slope to Valdez or a smaller line from the Slope to Southcentral — can be put in place. Studies have shown a shortfall in gas supplies as soon as 2013.
“It’s not a question of ‘if’ it’s going to happen,” Griffith said. “It’s going to happen.”
Anchorage Municipal Light & Power general manager Jim Posey told an Anchorage business forum last fall that his utility was studying the import of LNG and would have a report within a year. Chugach Electric Association and Enstar Natural Gas Co. also were involved in the review. Read more
January 25, 2011
By Teddy Willoya in Alaska Dispatch: During the week of Thanksgiving I had the opportunity to interview five different tribal councils in the Yukon River drainage, inquiring about the most pressing issues they are dealing with at their meetings. I spoke with tribal councils in Alukanuk, Pilot Station, Shageluk, Galena, and Fort Yukon. All five of these councils had a lot of work to keep them busy and numerous issues that need to be resolved.
Most of these issues relate to improving environmental and economic conditions in the villages. For instance, some of the councils noted difficulties with the removal of hazardous waste. Others were working on getting funding to fix up existing homes to make them energy efficient. Energy efficiency and the high price of heating fuel seem to be an issue that most rural villages are struggling with.
Alukanuk’s main issue from their recent tribal meeting was the accumulation of backhaul items in their dump. Some of these items included refrigerators, snowmachines, four-wheelers, and freezers. Those items have been building up because the tribe doesn’t have any employees with hazardous waste operations and emergency response (HAZWOPER) certification to prepare the items for removal. Freon must be removed from the freezers, and hazardous fluids must be drained from snowmachines and four-wheelers prior to transport from the village. Alukanuk ran out of funding for its landfill project in September 2009. Alukanuk lacks a grant writing employee in its tribal office, and they need somebody who can write grants for various issues that their village needs to mitigate, such as the landfill project and subsistence related issues. The tribal council is working toward getting some of their community members trained so they can begin to address some of their pressing issues. Read more
January 25, 2011
By Monte Paulsen of the Tyee: The home of the future was built 34 years ago in Regina. It was called the Saskatchewan Conservation House. It used less than a fifth of the energy consumed by comparable homes. More than 30,000 people came to see it. But Canadian homebuilders ignored the ideas it offered, and the Canadian public forgot about it.
The world would have forgotten the Saskatchewan house, too, were it not for a quirky German physicist interested in energy-saving buildings. After studying the Saskatchewan house and a handful of similar buildings, Dr. Wolfgang Feist wrote a mathematically precise — and elegantly simple — criterion for designing buildings that require less than a tenth of the energy of average buildings. He called it the Passivhaus standard. Feist’s formula has gone viral. There are now more than 25,000 certified Passivhaus buildings in Europe, and thousands more under construction around the world. But, here in Canada? There’s just one.
Sans furnace in Saskatchewan
The Saskatchewan Conservation House was built in 1977 by the Saskatchewan Research Council, with support from partners including the University of Regina and the University of Saskatchewan. Read more
February 3, 2011
7:00 pm to 10:00 pm
February 9, 2011
9:00 am to 12:00 pm
February 17, 2011
1:00 pm to 4:00 pm
February 19, 2011
9:00 am to 12:00 pm
COMMERCIAL SOLAR & WIND SYSTEMS and the National Electrical Code®
Engineering – Government – Contractors – Utilities – Installers
Solar and Wind systems generate power with potentially dangerous amperage and voltage. With the 2011 Edition, virtually all RE systems are now under the jurisdiction of the NEC®. A FREE SEMINAR series for Commercial entities presented by Alaska’s Renewable Energy experts! ABS Alaskan, Inc
• Fundamentals of the NEC® as it applies to Renewable Energy systems
• Fundamentals of grid interconnection
• Major safety issues & common NEC® violations related to RE systems
• “Solar Ready Construction” strategies for planning & construction of PV
FAIRBANKS: February 3rd – 7 :00 PM to 10:00 PM & February 9th – 9:00 AM to NOON, 2130 Van Horn Rd
ANCHORAGE: Thursday, February 17th – 1:00 PM to 4:00 PM & February 19th – 9:00 AM to NOON, 166 E Potter Drive
CLASS SIZE IS LIMITED TO 15 – PLEASE REGISTER EARLY.
For more information and registration call
Nathan Stumpff at (800) 478-7145 or (907) 452-2002.
Or email Nathan@absAK.com
Be Green . . . . and SAFE
February 5, 2011
9:00 am to 12:00 pm
February 10, 2011
7:00 pm to 10:00 pm
February 17, 2011
7:00 pm to 10:00 pm
February 19, 2011
1:00 pm to 4:00 pm
Solar and Wind systems generate power with potentially dangerous amperage and voltage. The NEC® addresses the safe development, installation and and operation of the electrical components. A FREE SEMINAR series for Homeowners presented by ABS Alaskan, Inc., Alaska’s Renewable Energy experts!
Learn what you need to know to protect yourself, your family, and your RE system • Fundamentals of the NEC® as it applies to Renewable Energy systems • On-Grid and Off-Grid systems and the NEC® • The NEC® and Storage Batteries • Major safety issues & common NEC® violations related to RE systems
FAIRBANKS: February 5th – 9:00 AM to NOON & February 10th – 7:00 PM to 10:00 PM, 2130 Van Horn Rd
ANCHORAGE: February 17th – 7:00 PM to 10:00 PM & February 19th – 1:00 PM to 4:00 PM 166 E Potter Drive
CLASS SIZE IS LIMITED TO 15 – PLEASE REGISTER EARLY. For more information and registration call Nathan Stumpff at (800) 478-7145 or (907) 452-2002. Or email Nathan@absAK.com Be Green . . . . and SAFE
January 18, 2011
By Jill Burke at Alaska Dispatch: Students at a small high school in Alaska are giving new meaning to the “new energy” mantra coined by onetime Gov. Sarah Palin. But instead of looking to extract oil and gas reserves, as pitched by Palin, scientists in the Last Frontier are pioneering advances in an alternate method of gas collection — the creation and harvest of methane — and Cordova teenagers are leading the way.
Cows burp it, their dung piles emit it and melting permafrost in Alaska and elsewhere is releasing once-trapped reserves of methane gas that are now escaping as land shifts and melts. Methane, a greenhouse gas that traps heat at rates much higher than carbon dioxide, is the byproduct of bacteria that create the gas as they dine on dying plants and other waste.
In findings released last year, University of Alaska scientist Dr. Katey Walter-Anthony discovered that the methane bubbling out of Alaska’s flaming arctic lakes is created by a cold-loving bacteria hard at work. Urban planner T.H. Culhane, who builds waste-eating contraptions called biodigesters to improve the lives of people living in urban slums and rural villages across the globe, thought Walter-Anthony’s discovery could help his mission by improving the efficiency of the small-scale biodigesters he teachers others to make using commonly available supplies. Their partnership, facilitated by National Geographic’s Emerging Explorers program, has resulted in an experiment, now in its second year, at Cordova High School, looking at whether Alaska’s cold-loving bacteria, called psychrophiles, can expand the temperature range at which traditional biodigesters — typically used in more temperate regions of the earth — operate.
Culhane believes the technology will work in rural Alaska. With plenty of fish waste, wood, food scraps and other organic materials available, the raw materials are in place. All that’s needed is the motivation. Read more
January 7, 2011
From the Anchorage Daily News: It can be cheaper for Fairbanks to invest in energy savings than in new energy sources, according to a new report commissioned by the nonprofit Alaska Conservation Alliance.
The report said the city can cut energy demand in half by investing $100 million in energy efficiency, such as better building insulation and efficient appliances. For example, replacing old refrigerators in 38,000 Fairbanks homes would save 32 million kilowatt-hours per year. State and local officials gathered Wednesday to discuss the issue, the Fairbanks Daily News-Miner reported. They say energy efficiency would save money, improve the business climate and create jobs.
“Energy efficiency and conservation will always be our best economic value and most secure investment. It comes with a high, tax-free rate of return,” said Todd Hoener of Golden Valley Electric Association.
The “Fairbanks First Fuel” report explores how residents, businesses and industries can reduce electricity demand by investing in efficiency. It recommends measures for different sectors. According to the report, financing is key to getting residents and businesses on board. The utility, for example, could reward those who save by tying rates to how much is energy is used.
“There is no incentive to conserve electricity with the current rate structure,” said Tom DeLong, who is on the board of GVEA. “We could come up with new rates, adjust things between customers.” Read more
