We organize educational forums in communities across the state, including conferences, workshops and other convenings. Don’t miss the fun! Sign up to receive updates on upcoming events.
Fall is here and winter is not too far off. Here in Anchorage, as in the rest of the state, rising energy costs mean that it will cost folks even more to stay warm in the coming months. Fortunately, there is a lot you can do to reduce your energy use while keeping your home warm and cozy! In the spirit of community and preparedness, REAP is proud to host a Winter Prep Fair at the Fairview Rec Center in Anchorage...
We have organized and hosted eleven Alaska Renewable Energy Fairs and six Business of Clean Energy in Alaska conferences that brought expert speakers from around the world to Anchorage to meet and network with Alaskans. Speakers have included former CIA director James Woolsey, former National Security Advisor Robert McFarlane and Governors Bill Ritter (CO), Chet Culver (IA) and Jennifer Granholm (MI). Don’t miss the fun! Sign up to receive updates on upcoming events.
In the face of rising energy costs, more and more Alaskans are talking about the need to bring the Railbelt utilities together and more efficiently operate the grid that serves nearly 75% of the state’s residents. As part of our 2026 Spring Energy Speaker Series, REAP hosted a webinar introducing the concept of Unified Economic Dispatch (UED). That discussion (available to re-watch here) offered a basic...
Railbelt electricity ratepayers are already feeling the sting of rising energy costs due to dwindling supplies of Cook Inlet gas. The region’s electric utilities are stepping into the global market for natural gas to bridge the gap, just as we watch global fossil fuel prices rise and grow more volatile. But there may be institutional changes and innovation that can blunt some of the cost increases that are...
With Alaska experiencing more than a decade of net outmigration and record high levels of nonresident workers, we must invest in our state’s homegrown workforce. This need is especially acute in the clean energy sector, where the ripple effects of an insufficient workforce are felt across industries and communities in the form of high energy costs, unreliable service, and environmental impacts. REAP’s...
This second installment in REAP’s 2026 Spring Energy Speaker Series, “Grid to Table: Alaska’s Food/Energy Nexus,” centered on our food systems, the role energy plays in them, and what Alaska’s energy trends mean for our future food security. Whether you’re a policymaker, community leader, or simply interested in the future of Alaska, this event offered a unique opportunity to learn, ask questions,...
Cook Inlet gas is used to heat three out of every four homes in Southcentral Alaska and generate roughly 75% of the region’s electricity. For years, the Alaska Department of Natural Resources has projected that supply is likely to fall short of demand as soon as 2027. Now, the region’s utilities are exploring much more expensive gas import options to fill the gap. While rising gas prices will contribute...
RE+ Alaska will bring together clean energy professionals to discuss real-world solutions helping to spur electrification for tribal and rural communities. With a focus on the people and projects accelerating Alaska’s energy transition, tribal funding opportunities, and emerging technologies, this event seeks to bring Indigenous knowledge, innovation, and renewable energy solutions together to create a brighter,...
Since he founded the organization 21 years ago, Chris Rose has guided and grown REAP into the nonprofit partner trusted across Alaska and known throughout the world for its work to promote renewable energy and energy efficiency solutions for the benefit of all Alaskans. Under Chris’s leadership, REAP has grown from one person to a trained staff of 15 professionals in offices in both Anchorage and Juneau....
With the application period now open for communities interested in joining Cohort 5, the ETIPP team has been sharing lots of information online and via informational webinars about the program itself. Against this backdrop, REAP Microgrid Project Managers, Haleigh Reed and Savannah Crichton, were keen to share some of their experiences and learnings gleaned from their community energy engagement work in...
Ms. McKittrick’s first such piece, titled “Energy conservation is good. And raises electric rates. What does that mean for net metering reforms?” can be accessed here. And her most recent write-up titled, “What would we get with the Annual Net Metering bill?” is available here. Against the backdrop of impending shortfalls in supply of Cook Inlet natural gas and the resulting need to source an increasing...
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...
House Bill 153 and its companion bill, Senate Bill 149, would establish an RPS for Alaska’s Railbelt, requiring the region’s electric utilities to diversify their generation portfolios and generate an increasing percentage of their electricity from renewable sources over the coming years. REAP and its partners have been developing and advocating for Railbelt RPS legislation for more than three years,...
In light of looming Cook Inlet natural gas shortfalls and several competing visions for how to meet Railbelt energy needs, it is important that we think critically about the choices ahead and align around a vision for our collective energy future. With that in mind, REAP was thrilled to host the final installment of its 2024 Fall Energy Speaker Series in-person at the Anchorage Museum on Wednesday, November 20. ...