January 22, 2010
On October 14, 2009, the Regulatory Commission of Alaska (Commission) voted to adopt new regulations establishing net metering requirements for economically regulated utilities. A final version of the regulations was formally adopted on January 15, 2010.Net metering serves as an important incentive for consumer investment in renewable energy generation. It allows a customer of a [...] Read More
January 22, 2010
From the Fairbanks Daily News-Miner: Two Alaska state senators today recommended the state use roughly $200 million to restock an energy fund, a proposed deposit aimed at upgrading electrical generation and transmission systems through Fairbanks and Southcentral Alaska. The figure comprises two-thirds of a broader slate of recommendations, released last fall without a price tag, [...] Read More
January 21, 2010
From Energy Efficiency News: An analysis by the US Department of Energy (DOE)’s National Renewable Energy Laboratory (NREL) indicates that shifting to 20% wind energy by 2024 is possible. The two-and-a-half year study modelled various scenarios of the effects of future penetration of wind power on the Eastern Interconnect electricity network. The Eastern Interconnect currently [...] Read More
January 18, 2010
A few worldwide stories caught our eye today: •From across the pond, a British company is sponsoring a £2 million($2.8M) challenge pitting communities against each other to see who can be greenest using energy conservation and renewable energy. •Taiwan is plunging into the already massive clean tech field with Taiwan’s president announcing a plan to spend [...] Read More
January 18, 2010
From Jason Palmer at BBC News: Researchers have demonstrated a simple, cheap way to create self-assembling electronic devices using a property crucial to salad dressings. It uses the fact that oil- and water-based liquids do not mix, forming devices from components that align along the boundary between the two. The idea joins a raft of [...] Read More
January 12, 2010
From Joshua Saul at Alaska Dispatch: Far out on the Aleutian chain, on windy Adak Island, a world-class Nautilus gym sits dark and cold because the city of Adak can’t afford the electricity to light and heat it. The gym is an artifact left over from when the island was a naval base, home to [...] Read More
January 11, 2010
By Marc Lifsher, Los Angeles Times When octogenarian Arthur H. Rosenfeld vacates his utilitarian office at the California Energy Commission this week, one of his final tasks might seem of little consequence: He’ll turn off the lights. But that simple act — some would say compulsion — has transformed California into a world leader in energy [...] Read More
January 8, 2010
The Alaska Energy Authority has extended until Jan. 20 the public comment period for the recently released Regional Integrated Resource Plan. The plan analyzed long-term solutions for powering the Railbelt for the next 50 years and made a series of recommendations that include hydro, wind and other renewable energy sources. Please send your comments electronically [...] Read More
January 8, 2010
From Joshua Saul at Alaska Dispatch: High 2008 oil prices are still busting budgets in this Bristol Bay town. Bob Himschoot heats his Dillingham home with firewood he cuts himself, and after oil prices skyrocketed in the summer of 2008, the city councilman saw more of his neighbors doing the same. But after oil prices [...] Read More
January 8, 2010
From the U.S. Department of Energy: Today at the White House, President Obama announced the award of $2.3 billion in Recovery Act Advanced Energy Manufacturing Tax Credits for clean energy manufacturing projects across the United States. One hundred eighty three projects in 43 states(Alaska was not among them) will create tens of thousands of high [...] Read More
