For the past six years ago, ANEEE’s central mission has been to identify, map and connect Alaska’s network of energy champions. Those champions include educators, trainers, electric utilities, state and federal agencies, municipalities, private industry, Alaska Native Corporations, nonprofits, trade and labor organizations, schools, research agencies, elders and students throughout rural, Railbelt and Southeast Alaska. Spread throughout the vast and unique regions of our state, all of these stakeholders are united in their dedication to advancing energy efficiency, growing renewable energy use, and combating the high cost of energy in Alaska.
ANEEE helps this dispersed and diverse network overcome silos, form connections and work together toward shared goals of providing reliable, affordable, and clean energy. We take a layered approach that’s grounded in place-based research, active listening and relationship-building. Since our inception, our mission has manifested in five key areas.
1. We research and aggregate statewide clean energy education and training resources.
The Gap Analysis of Alaska’s Clean Energy Education and Training Opportunities focuses on three key education areas: K–12, career and technical, and university education. This research identifies obstacles, opportunities and solutions for educators and communities working to grow energy literacy and careers throughout the state.
2. We create knowledge sharing opportunities.
Whether hosting a Zoom roundtable on building Alaska’s clean energy workforce or speaking to a rural community about tangible energy careers and training opportunities, ANEEE brings invested stakeholders together to strategize and collaborate effectively.
3. We partner with workforce development initiatives.
We work with Alaska’s many energy utilities, schools, technical training centers and university campuses to grow Alaska’s clean energy workforce. Our dedication to finding right-sized solutions for Alaska is on display in a partnership between Anchorage’s King Tech High School, Kusilvak Career Academy and the University of Alaska. This collaboration gives students from the Yukon-Kuskokwim Delta access to a high-quality vocational training, including a Toyo stove repair class.
4. We create energy training curricula and coordinate rural utility training sessions.
Through the People in Power program, our team develops tools for workforce assessment, technical assistance and training in rural communities. PIP focuses on providing regular, community-specific training programs in four training categories—managerial, operational, administrative and governance—to improve utility operations and management.
5. We innovate technical assistance tools for rural partners.
We work to improve rural communities’ energy efficiency, reliability and capacity through improved monitoring, oversight and repair systems. Alongside our partners, ANEEE helps rural utility workers implement and use remote monitoring systems and microgrid system controllers, which has included pioneering the use of virtual reality technology to maintain remote infrastructure.
We also have big plans for the future. We’re ramping up our collaborations with partner programs within the Renewable Energy Alaska Project, like the Sustainable Southeast Partnership and the Energy Transitions Initiative Partnership Project, to better target our education and technical assistance efforts. We’re building a public database of ANEEE partners to facilitate even more collaboration. We’re stepping up our communications to share industry knowledge, opportunities, and needs more frequently.
And we want your ideas. Needs and developments are moving so rapidly in the clean energy sector that we want your input on emerging chokepoints, gaps, and lags in energy education and capacity development.
Get in touch with ANEEE Network Coordinator Jenny Starrs at jstarrs@realaska.org and ANEEE Director Chris McConnell at cmconnell@realaska.org anytime with your thoughts.