Philip Wight, Assistant Professor of History and Arctic & Northern Studies at the University of Alaska Fairbanks, recently published his research paper titled, “Electrifying Alaska’s Railbelt: A Generation and Transmission History, 1904-2024.”
In summary, Dr. Wight’s paper (available online here), “asks: how did the Railbelt electrify and become a grid? The paper finds that Alaskans, with the indispensable support of the federal government, built 2.7 gigawatts of generation and over 1,600 miles of high-voltage transmission lines. Development proceeded organically with Alaska’s wider economy and boomed periodically with distinct “golden ages.” These electric golden ages occurred at key moments when new technologies unlocked cheaper energy, Alaskans needed more power to expand economic prosperity, and power authorities were aligned on policy objectives. State, federal, and rural electric cooperatives provided the funding and leadership to interconnect the grid, primarily in the 1960s and 1980s with new hydropower development. Despite building one of the largest machines in Alaska, the Railbelt remains a weekly connected power grid. The historical problems of power pooling, an efficient single load balancing area, and creating a unified or independent grid operator remain significant challenges.”
In this pivotal moment for the future of energy in the Railbelt, REAP was proud to host Dr. Wight for the second installment in our 2025 Spring Energy Speaker Series. He graciously agreed to help us appreciate where we’ve been and provide the invaluable context for understanding what is possible as we seek to align around a vision for what comes next.
We hope you will tune in for this enlightening presentation on the historic buildout of electrical generation and transmission on Alaska’s Railbelt grid—the single largest machine in America’s largest state.
Event Details
What: An in-depth presentation from Philip Wight, Assistant Professor of History and Arctic & Northern Studies at UAF, on the history of generation and transmission buildout in Alaska’s Railbelt region. Audience Q&A followed Dr. Wight’s presentation.
Where: YouTube – watch the recording here
When: This free webinar was held from Noon to 1:00pm on Wednesday, May 7, 2025.
Email REAP’s Outreach Director, Donovan Russoniello, at drussoniello@realaska.org with any questions.