Tag Archive for: clean energy policy

Climate activists hold rally near the Capitol

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[cs_content][cs_element_section _id=”1″ ][cs_element_layout_row _id=”2″ ][cs_element_layout_column _id=”3″ ][cs_element_text _id=”4″ ][cs_content_seo]Climate activists from around Alaska held a rally near the Alaska State Capitol Friday afternoon in support of legislative action to improve Alaska’s renewable energy development and future sustainability.
“What we do today right here, how our voices rise up from Áak’w Kwáan land all the way up through this building will only affect us, it will affect all our generations,” said Paulette Moreno, Tlingit climate activist and member of the Indigenous Navigation Council. “It is important that our voice be heard.”
Around 30 people attended the snowy rally at the Dimond Courthouse Plaza holding signs and planting them in a pile of snow that gathered around the William Henry Seward statue.

Clarise Larson / Juneau Empire Climate activists hold a rally outside the Alaska State Capitol Friday afternoon in advocacy for legislative action to improve Alaska’s renewable energy development and future sustainability.

The group included multiple leaders of climate activist organizations from across the state and legislators including Democrats Rep. Sara Hannan of Juneau, Rep. CJ McCormick of Bethel, and Rep. Donna Mears of Anchorage and independent Rep. Alyse Galvin of Anchorage.

Clarise Larson / Juneau Empire Independent Rep. Alyse Galvin of Anchorage speaks to a crowd of climate activists who held a rally outside the Alaska State Capitol Friday afternoon in advocacy for legislative action to improve Alaska’s renewable energy development and future sustainability.

The handful of speakers from groups a part of Alaska Climate Alliance including the Southeast Alaska Conservation Council, 350Juneau, Fairbanks Climate Action Coalition and the Alaska Center advocated for action on four legislative priorities which included establishing a Green Bank within the Alaska Housing Finance Corporation, enacting a Renewable Portfolio Standard, passing Community Solar legislation and renewing and strengthening the Renewable Energy Fund.
“We need our senators and representatives to wake up to the enormity of the climate crisis,” said Elaine Shroeder, co-chair of 350Juneau, in an interview with the Empire.
Hannan, Mears and Galvin each gave a short speech to the crowd and said it can be hard to change certain legislators’ minds when it comes to the need for climate action, and said changes come at the ballot box.

Clarise Larson / Juneau Empire Rep. Sara Hannan of Juneau speaks to a crowd of climate activists who held a rally outside the Alaska State Capitol Friday afternoon in advocacy for legislative action to improve Alaska’s renewable energy development and future sustainability.

“With 17 new members in the House, our age going down, we were very successful in replacing some old staunchly oil advocates with some young renewable advocates and in two years we have the opportunity to change more seats and we have to continue to do it,” Hannan said.
Hannan said she wanted to see other Alaska communities — large and small — find similar success in renewable energy as Juneau has been able to. She also pointed to heat pumps as an energy efficient alternative to furnaces that has been largely adopted in Juneau and said she wants to see more communities in Alaska transition to the alternative heating mode.
In an interview with the Empire after the event, Hannan said she is supportive of renewing the Renewable Energy Fund but said it was too early in the budgeting process to say how much more she’d like to see be included with the renewal.
“If we don’t extend it, it evaporates,” she said.
In response to a rally participant suggesting adding $100 million, Hannan noted to the Empire that the state’s budget for the fiscal year 2024 is expected to spend at a deficit. Gov. Mike Dunleavy’s proposed budget for Fiscal Year 2024 includes a projected $250 million deficit that will need to be covered with the state’s roughly $2 billion in reserve funds, but legislative finance leaders say the actual deficit is may be $400 million to $500 million.
Hannan said she thinks a key solution to increasing renewable energy across Alaska is the use of run-of-river hydroelectricity, systems that use natural water flow to generate electricity, which is an energy system Juneau has been benefiting from and pioneered since early hydropower development. Hannan said she is interested in projects bringing opportunities to expand run-of-river hydroelectricity into small and rural communities in Alaska.

Originally published on February 3, 2023 by the Juneau Empire.\n\nClarise Larson / Juneau Empire Climate activists hold a rally outside the Alaska State Capitol Friday afternoon in advocacy for legislative action to improve Alaska’s renewable energy development and future sustainability.Clarise Larson / Juneau Empire Independent Rep. Alyse Galvin of Anchorage speaks to a crowd of climate activists who held a rally outside the Alaska State Capitol Friday afternoon in advocacy for legislative action to improve Alaska’s renewable energy development and future sustainability.Clarise Larson / Juneau Empire Rep. Sara Hannan of Juneau speaks to a crowd of climate activists who held a rally outside the Alaska State Capitol Friday afternoon in advocacy for legislative action to improve Alaska’s renewable energy development and future sustainability.[/cs_content_seo][/cs_element_layout_column][/cs_element_layout_row][/cs_element_section][/cs_content]

Don’t let the sun go down on the Renewable Energy Fund

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The Renewable Energy Fund (REF), when passed by the AK Legislature in 2008, was one of those rare Kumbaya policies that was approved by a unanimous vote. This was at a time when the Legislature was showered by a windfall of revenue from skyrocketing oil prices (combined with a new progressive tax structure) while outside the shower curtain, constituents were holding pitchforks and shouting, beset by the highest cost gasoline in the whole United States of America. The REF intended to fund renewable energy projects to help lower the cost of living in Alaska. The fund would be capitalized annually for a five-year period to the tune of $50 million per year.

Since its inception, the REF has proven to be an effective and important tool to get funding out on the street toward renewable energy projects. Check out the deets in this handy Quick Facts[!] sheet. The process behind project selection is insulated from political interference by the Renewable Energy Fund Advisory Committee, a body established by the REF legislation to review proposals and make recommendations to the Alaska Energy Authority, which reviews, approves, and passes the approved project along to the Legislature for approval. This helps assure the project benefits are spread out to communities statewide.

When the Legislature passed the REF, it was for a five-year period with a “sunset” at the end. Sunsets are applied to most boards and commissions in Alaska. The reason for a sunset is to provide an incentive for the Legislature to take action within a specific time frame if they want the entity to continue. If an extension is not granted before a sunset date, whether intentionally or not, the Legislature causes the entity to go away. It can be revived from oblivion in a subsequent legislative session though creating a program is often more challenging than simply extending a termination date. In 2012 a vote was taken to extend the sunset to 2023. And here we are, looking on as the sun falls on the silhouettes of future wind energy generators across the state.

Thankfully, lawmakers still largely approve of the REF. That is why a bill was filed last year to extend the sunset (it ran out of time before the end of the Legislature), and another bill has already been filed this year. SB 33 extends the REF to 2033. Sponsored by Anchorage Senator James Kaufman, it was introduced in January and referred to the Senate Resources and Senate Finance committees. We support this bill and encourage our readers to send a quick note to Senator Kaufman supporting the REF.  On that note, The Alaska Center and our partners in The Alaska Climate Alliance were in Juneau this week meeting with the new legislature, with REF extension as one of the top clean energy priorities.

If the bill does not move forward, all is not lost. There are shenanigans the Legislature can pull – such as attaching the sunset extension to another piece of legislation pertaining to renewable energy. In the past, sunsets have been amended into other legislation containing sunset extensions for unrelated programs. There are lots of avenues to keep the REF going. Considering the influx of federal funding with an emphasis on a clean energy transition, it would be both practical and wise for the Legislature to renew the REF.

Hopefully, the new Majority in the House will play along, and not spend their entire tenure in control tilting at windmills like the proposed repeal of ranked-choice voting.

Here’s to hope!

OPINION: Time to prep your solar garden

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Alaskans understand working together to help each other thrive. We have community hunts, mutual aid networks and community gardens all across the state. We come together to use a common plot of land to increase the harvest for all, but we can garden more than food: We can garden electricity!

Gardening is a great way to boost your mood, spend some time outside and save a bit of money on food. We could all use the extra sunshine and a few dollars saved on groceries, but how do you garden if you live in an apartment? What if your yard just doesn’t get the sun you need, or you’re not quite sure how to make those nice raised garden beds? Join a community garden! You can build community, share space with your neighbors, and get all the benefits of a garden in your backyard without needing a backyard. Solar gardens can solve the same problems for people looking to invest in renewable energy.

Solar energy has been gaining a lot of popularity in Alaska over the last few years. The same summer sun that grows us record-breaking veggies also produces power that helps Alaskans all across the state save money on their energy bills and reduce their dependence on fossil fuels. I help facilitate Solarize programs in Mat-Su and Anchorage communities whose goal is to help people get solar on their homes, but as the renter of a log cabin hidden in the woods, I can’t put solar on my roof. It wouldn’t get enough sunlight, and I would have to pay for structural remodels of a house I don’t own. A solar garden would let me, and others like me, invest in a solar setup located in a clear sunny patch and save money on my electric bill without the cost of a remodel.

Solar gardens are made possible by community solar programs. Community solar is a system where individuals can invest in and share the benefits of a solar array not located on their property. Each person who holds a share of the community solar array will see their portion of clean, sustainable energy on their utility bill each month. Programs like these significantly reduce solar costs, helping make solar more accessible to folks who don’t have a roof to put their solar on and who can’t afford to put solar on their roof.

While Alaska does have the second-highest energy prices in the U.S., we do not have legislation permitting community solar. Forty-one other states already have community solar projects up and running, and we can join them if our legislators pass a bill allowing us access to solar gardens. For many of us, access to energy is just as important as access to food, and both commodities’ prices are increasingly challenging to afford. If you want to grow some electricity in a solar garden near you like I do, then we will need our leaders to make policy decisions to ensure community solar is possible here. It’s time to plant those seeds for community solar this legislative session.
Rachel Christensen is a community organizer for The Alaska Center who loves clean energy, dog walks and new crafts.

Originally published on January 27, 2023 by the Anchorage Daily News.

Tall Mike tap dances carbon policy?

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[cs_content][cs_element_section _id=”1″ ][cs_element_layout_row _id=”2″ ][cs_element_layout_column _id=”3″ ][cs_element_text _id=”4″ ][cs_content_seo]Predicting the actual future from a Governor’s State of the State address is often pointless. They are crude indicators at best. As a ceremony, they are at least consistent: handshaking upon entry, some levity, the introduction of noteworthy Alaskans including the love of their life spouses, lots of clapping, people standing awkwardly in the gallery for recognition, then onto the meat and potatoes of the speech – usually, no, definitely always – this is an aspirational monologue containing bits about hope for the future, the promise of our people, the threats we must face and fight, being open for business, having lots of trees and gold and fishes and petroleum, looking ok or bad financially, etcetera, add a personal story here or there and a wrap up with god blessing us all each and everyone and the great state as well amen.
Governor Dunleavy is noteworthy because, in his State of the State speeches, he is very tall. He also looks seriously P.O.d most of the time. When he says he will go after criminals and lock them away for good, you tend to believe he is serious in his intent and means to do it himself physically. As he has warmed to the job of Governor and is looking at a whole new four years, many commentators and lawmakers noted that his State of the State seemed more conciliatory than in the past. But wait! In the middle of his address, he stated he wanted Alaska to be the “most pro-life state” in the nation. Historically, the Governor has wasted a lot of time with controversy, so throwing anti-choice bombs is in line with his former approach. The rumor is that pragmatic strains could be emerging on the third floor. There is certainly plenty of work to do, as the Governor alluded to, from fentanyl overdoses to food security, that will benefit from a working relationship with the lawmaking body.
One area the Governor highlighted as a policy direction is the exploration of the carbon sequestration credit market for Alaska. We have yet to see the specifics. Generally, a carbon credit represents 1 ton of carbon dioxide removed from the atmosphere. A company can purchase credits to make up for carbon dioxide emissions that come from industrial activities, delivery vehicles, or travel. The State of Alaska currently needs a legal structure in place to participate in existing carbon markets by designating forest, tundra, peat bog, and other lands, and kelp forests as carbon sequestration acreage.
If he devotes time, energy, and resources to this policy option, he could score a win. The catch is that it might require cooperation with hippy states like California – California’s carbon cap-and-trade program is one of the world’s largest multi-sectoral emissions trading systems. It will also require a solid ground-game in the legislature to convince skeptical members of the benefit of leaving certain forests un-clearcut, certain wetlands un-mined, etc. It will be a delicate dance, and we have yet to see this Governor step onto the ballroom floor. Perhaps he is a secret Fred Astaire.
Valuing forests and tundra for their ability to sequester carbon naturally can mean that these green things are afforded more protection. The whole “mechanically capturing carbon from the atmosphere and pumping it into caverns in the earth” is a bit vaguer of a concept. The jury is out because no bill has been introduced, but we will be watching with interest. It is by no means a simple fix or a simple issue. Some of our good friends and allies in the climate fight view the carbon market issue with great skepticism. Other friends like The Nature Conservancy have worked for years to promote the carbon market in Alaska and America.
The last time the legislature paid heed to carbon sequestration was in 2004 when former Representative Ethan Berkowitz sponsored, and Governor Frank Murkowski signed legislation requiring the state to investigate the issue. Many elections and events transpired after that, causing the issue to fall by the wayside. The recent success of Alaska Native Corporations gaining revenue by committing lands to carbon sequestration has provided some concrete evidence. Of course, there is the whole issue of the planet heating rapidly due to carbon emissions, and some adults in the room better do something soon, or we will all broil, but that is the part not said out loud. It will be a tacit recognition of the fact implicit in the policy action. There is plenty of that in the Dunleavy Administration, from last year’s Renewable Portfolio Standard and Green Bank bill to the current carbon discussion.
Many in the legislature and the Governor recognize that renewable energy is critical to addressing high energy prices. The Alaska Center applauds this and encourages bold policy action during this session. We will be hitting the ground running next week in Juneau, meeting with members of the legislature to discuss our top legislative priority this session which also seeks to address high energy costs: Community Solar. Here is the elevator pitch:
The majority of Alaskans support solar power. Net Energy Metering has proven to be extremely popular on the Alaska Railbelt. However, most Alaskans cannot install their own solar panels because they rent rather than own their homes or cannot afford the upfront installation costs. Community Solar allows communities and individuals to come together and purchase shared solar arrays at affordable prices. Community Solar puts the power in the hands of communities and individuals to decide where their energy comes from.
We will be shopping the concept around, addressing questions, and learning about concerns next week. Stay tuned for legislation shortly. All Alaskans deserve to benefit from solar energy, and we intend to help bring it to them.
See you soon,
The Alaska Center

\n\n[/cs_content_seo][cs_element_gap _id=”5″ ][/cs_element_layout_column][/cs_element_layout_row][cs_element_layout_row _id=”6″ ][cs_element_layout_column _id=”7″ ][cs_element_button _id=”8″ ][cs_content_seo]Bills To Watch\n\n[/cs_content_seo][/cs_element_layout_column][cs_element_layout_column _id=”9″ ][cs_element_button _id=”10″ ][cs_content_seo]More Hot Takes In A Cold Place\n\n[/cs_content_seo][/cs_element_layout_column][/cs_element_layout_row][/cs_element_section][/cs_content]

The old vintage rock band is back together in the House

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This week, an old pattern emerged in the State House – a Republican majority created through the addition of the Bush Caucus Democrats and Independents. News broke Wednesday morning that the razor thin Republican majority conference appeared to coalesce. Western and Northern AK Dems agreed to help make what appears to be at least a 23-member majority. This structure has been in place for most of the legislatures since the early 1980s, since the famous legislative coup in the 12th State Legislature. Such longevity makes one marvel at how unique the majority Democratic Tri-Partisan (Democrat, Republican, and Independent) body that ran the House between the 30th and 33rd legislatures was.

The rise of the oil industry in Alaska created Republican rule, and the decline of the oil industry is making way for dynamic political arrangements. This is an oversimplification and is mostly true.

The formation of a Republican/Bush Caucus majority in the House doesn’t represent a solid return to the played-out extractive narrative, just a pit-stop on the way to the future. For reassurance, one just has to look over to the state Senate where a massive 17-member Bipartisan Majority has formed thanks to the Ranked Choice Voting citizens initiative that tossed a hand grenade into party-run primaries and opened the door for more moderate candidates. While the Governor now has an ally in the House, the Senate will be a formidable backstop against anything too wacky. And who knows, the House Majority will see the wisdom in focusing on the same items as the Senate has chosen to rally around: decreasing high energy and healthcare costs, improving teacher and public employee retention, and providing adequate education funding. It is not a radical agenda by any means.

Early statements by the apparent Speaker-Elect, Cathy Tilton, hint at a willingness to dust off the report of the Bipartisan Fiscal Policy Working Group. Some fairly far-out players on the right flank could easily blow up any policy effort deemed too moderate or progressive. The Democratic Caucus left outside the majority are now free to loudly oppose weak-sauce fiscal efforts. The House will need steady communication with the Senate and strong leadership if they are going to make headway on fiscal issues.

The Governor will have an outsized influence on the House leadership, and what this wild-card Governor wants to do is anyone’s guess. It could be he wants to provide unrealistic permanent fund dividends; it could be he wants to have the permanent fund invested into boondoggle projects in Alaska, like a natural gas line. We just don’t know. A second term gives him some breathing room from future elections – unless he is planning for a run for U.S. Senate sometime. Either way, he has four years to think about it and about his “legacy,” for what that’s worth. Without a mega-project or a spiffy new building as a reminder of his greatness through the ages, a decaying fleet of Marine Highway ferries and a considerably declined state population might be the relics of his rule.

We hope that this is the year everyone decides to work on a few things together and does them well enough with the tools at hand. It is not asking for a lot. Let’s think practical and hope big. Baby steps, Alaska!
Stay tuned,
The Alaska Center

National climate draft document highlights dangers for Alaska

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The public comment period for an update on the National Climate Assessment closes Jan. 27 as the U.S. seeks to shore up efforts to address climate change.

The draft update, now the fifth, is considered “the preeminent source of climate information for the United States, used by hundreds of thousands of people across the country and around the world,” according to a news release from the White House Office of Science and Technology Policy.

The National Climate Assessment first published in 2000, with its last update released in two parts between 2017 and 2018.

The 1,695-page draft report evaluates everything from rising ocean levels and shifting weather patterns to economical and social impacts. The draft includes a 63-page chapter on Alaska’s role in climate change, including threats and reactions.

Citing a 2018 study, the draft states that Alaska is warming two to three times faster than the global average.

The draft report notes climate change presents some positive impacts for Alaska’s food security, including longer growing seasons.

Twenty-four people from federal, state, environmental, science and academic backgrounds contributed to the Alaska chapter.

Alyssa Quintyne, the Alaska Center’s Interior community manager, served as one of the Alaska chapter’s contributing writers.

“Alaskans are the best people to tell the story about climate crisis in Alaska,” Quintyne said, adding that public comments from Alaska residents are essential.

“We don’t want our chapter to go out without Alaskan eyes on it,” Quintyne said. “We want to engage with our fellow leaders and community members, and we want to make sure we got the story right.”

Noticeable impacts include thawing permafrost, shrinking sea ice levels and a sharp, noticeable drop in several fish and crab populations, which have led to several fisheries crashes over the last years.

Other elements highlighted in the draft report include prolonged summer wildfire seasons and the adverse health affects caused by the smoke, shifts in wildlife migration patterns.

Quintyne noted health impacts from wildfire smoke struck a personal note.

“A lot of my friends developed bronchospasms,” Quintyne said. Bronchospasms are cause by airway muscles tightening, which results in wheezing and coughing.

Quintyne noted some people had to receive breathing treatments as a result. Several things trigger it, including emphysema, chemical fumes and allergens — and wildfire smoke.

“To see healthy people that are normally out there running or exercising all of sudden developing these conditions hit me personally,” Quintyne said.

The report references some of the most recent severe weather events, including the harsh 2021-2022 winter season that hammered the Interior with freezing rain and snow.

The Alaska chapter also cites personal stories from residents, including Fairbanks resident and tax preparer Marjorie Casort’s testimony on the 2021-2022 snowpocalypse.

“In April we are still feeling the effects, with an inch of ice stubbornly clinging to roads,” Casort wrote. “Many of my elderly clients are housebound, unable to even cross the road to check their mailbox because of the dangerous ice conditions.”

The draft report is available online for review and comment at review.globalchange.gov. People wishing to comment will need to create an account to view, download or comment.

Quintyne encourages people to comment.

“We greatly appreciate having this chapter written and edited by Alaskans, so we appreciate any comment and we want to make sure we got the story right,” Quintyne said.

Originally published on January 4, 2023 by the Fairbanks Daily News-Miner.

Climate Progress Ahead

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There is a thread in these facts. Joe Biden is arguably the most aggressive president on climate we have had, and this administration has shepherded through Congress the most significant investment in clean energy our country has ever seen. A national party has a majority in the U.S. Senate and will hopefully treat climate change as the dire threat it is. Alaska just elected the first Indigenous Alaskan woman to Congress who knows first-hand the impacts of climate change on northern lands, waters, and communities. The Governor, no great champion of Salmon or Democracy, has put forward bold renewable energy policies in the past and is compelled to diversify energy sources by a looming Southcentral natural gas shortage bearing down.

Similarly, major electric utilities are awakening to the fact that they must quickly diversify. The State Senate has organized a moderate bi-partisan majority with the goal of driving down energy costs as a key pillar of the coalition. While the State House has yet to organize, it will be hard for any majority to oppose further clean energy investment and legislation if it helps drive down costs for Alaskans. If we mind the connections, progress seems inevitable – but that is never the case. Progress will take a lot of work, a lot of voices, and a little time.
The Alaska Center understands that there are enormous resources now available to states, local governments, and utilities from the Inflation Reduction Act and that the political stars are fairly aligned. For our climate-oriented legislative priorities we will be working to pass a suite of state legislation that will move the needle on climate impacts. Our top priority is a bill that authorizes and provides clear guidelines for community solar projects. We will also be working with a coalition of organizations to pass legislation that sets a renewable portfolio standard for railbelt electric utilities, creates a clean energy investment bank, and extends the Renewable Energy Fund to facilitate utility-scale renewable energy projects.

All Alaskans should have access to the cost reductions and pollution reductions available to those with the financial means to take advantage of residential solar. Alongside individual and large-scale solar, Community Solar is a way for everyone to benefit from solar energy, even if they cannot afford or install a solar PV system. An array is built, and residents, from homeowners to business owners to organizations, can invest in the array. The production of that array will be reflected in our energy bills. This array can be managed by a utility or a community for off-grid regions and villages. Electric utilities like Chugach and Homer Electric Association have come close to adopting versions of community solar programs. We believe that providing a clear statutory framework for utilities and the Regulatory Commission of Alaska to follow will provide for community solar arrays in underserved communities.

Electric utilities in Alaska have been told by the sole provider of natural gas in Southcentral Alaska that long-term natural gas contracts will end after 2024. This injects instability into future budget forecasting for utilities, and monopolistic control of the gas supply generally guarantees utility customers will pay increased premiums for the cost of power from natural gas. A renewable portfolio standard bill must be re-introduced to push our utilities toward the inevitable and the cost-effective: more renewable energy, lots more, and fast. When Congress passed the Inflation Reduction Act this year, they authorized a provision that non-profit rural electric cooperatives across the nation have sought for years – direct payment equivalent to the federal tax credit that for-profit utilities and Independent Power Producers claim. This means that our utilities have significant federal backing for numerous shovel-ready renewable projects, which also deeply undercuts the utility manager’s argument that individual utilities cannot afford a massive transition to renewables and battery storage. As envisioned by the Governor last session, a renewable portfolio standard would have utilities reach 80% renewable generation by 2040. We will be working to see this framework pass the legislature.

Our other policy goals align with and will help our state achieve the 80% goal. Reauthorization of the Renewable Energy Fund (REF)-due to sunset this year, will maintain an essential space for new utility-scale renewable projects to be vetted and funded. Funding for the REF has lately been derived from the earnings of the Power Cost Equalization endowment. When the state was flush with oil money, the REF was capitalized by appropriations from the general fund. We must maintain a way to provide direct grants for large-scale renewable projects as we simultaneously mandate that utilities incorporate more renewable energy.

Alaska needs a clean energy investment organization to help coax the private lending industry into making low-interest loans for large-scale energy efficiency projects, clean transportation, and clean energy programs. The Inflation Reduction Act authorized the Greenhouse Gas Reduction Fund (GGRF), a $27 billion clean energy deployment bank housed at the Environmental Protection Agency. The GGRF is the largest single pot of funding enacted in the IRA. It gave EPA broad discretion to invest in clean energy technologies through Green Banks (entities that leverage public funding to attract private financing and advance green energy or energy efficiency projects). We will be working this session to ensure a state office is established to take advantage of federal GGRF funds, a significant portion of which is designated for investment in underserved communities.

The Biden climate investment, favorable political conditions in Alaska, decreasing natural gas supply and price certainty, and the upcoming legislative session are primed for clean energy progress.

2023 can be the year for clean energy progress in our state if we keep pushing our leadership to enact policy that works with and for all Alaskans.

To the future!

Alaska power companies look at building community solar farms that households can invest in

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[cs_content][cs_element_section _id=”1″ ][cs_element_layout_row _id=”2″ ][cs_element_layout_column _id=”3″ ][cs_element_text _id=”4″ ][cs_content_seo]Two Alaska electric utilities are taking steps that could lead to the construction of the state’s first community solar farms, while a consumer interest group is drafting legislation that could support the efforts.
Advocates say the moves by the Anchorage and Fairbanks utilities could lead to projects that allow any household to invest in solar panels to reap their benefits, including low-income residents who can’t afford to install their own rooftop array like many Alaskans are doing.
Tom DeLong, board chair for the Golden Valley Electric Association in Fairbanks, said participants could invest in a share of a farm in potentially different ways, depending on how the utility might structure a plan. A ratepayer could make a one-time payment upfront, perhaps, or pay a tiny amount over time through a slightly higher electric bill. They could see lower electric bills in the years to come.
“It’s a hedge against rising rates,” DeLong said.
Chugach Electric Association, the largest utility in Alaska, is also beginning to take a new look at the idea of a community solar farm in Anchorage, after the Regulatory Commission of Alaska in 2019 rejected an earlier proposal from the utility, citing problems with details of the plan.
“Our members have expressed interest in community solar, so we are looking at the feasibility of another project,” said Julie Hasquet, a Chugach Electric spokeswoman.
Interest in the community farms, which have been implemented in many other states, comes as renewable use is growing in Alaska, and not just on rooftops. Private companies are undertaking ambitious efforts to build solar and wind farms, while utilities are also pursuing upgrades to the grid to support renewables. Driving factors include new federal tax incentives and uncertainty over future natural gas supply in Cook Inlet, the main source of electricity in Alaska.
[Construction of Alaska’s largest solar project gets underway in Houston]

‘Significant and vocal’ interest
Golden Valley Electric has directed its staff to study the idea of building a community solar array in Fairbanks, after a task force recommended that one be built on utility-owned land, DeLong said.
“We’re a cooperative, we’re owned by our members, and a significant and vocal group has expressed an interest in this,” DeLong said.
The task force recommended that residential ratepayers be allowed to buy a share of a panel to start with, and up to a full panel or more later, to facilitate broad participation in the project.
“We also recommend flexible eligibility that allows members to pre-purchase the panels in a six month or one year plan, in essence a Community Solar layaway plan,” the task force said in a report to the utility board. ”Smaller monthly payments will help accessibility by low to moderate income members in the community solar.”
The task force recommended the utility should quickly file a plan with the Regulatory Commission of Alaska.
The agency would approve how the payment is structured for participants, and would make sure a program does not discriminate against non-participants, DeLong said.

Chugach Electric will be informed by past effort
The Regulatory Commission in 2019 called Chugach Electric’s proposal for a community solar farm “confusing and undefined.” The agency raised concerns that all ratepayers would bear financial responsibility, not just the participants. But the regulators emphasized the state’s strong interest in renewable energy and said it did not want to discourage innovative programs.
That earlier proposal envisioned a solar farm built on utility-owned land in Anchorage, costing $2 million or less, with 2,000 panels. It could have generated about 15% of the power for about 500 participating households. Retail ratepayers could have made a prepaid investment or subscribed monthly, with the energy output of their share provided as a credit on monthly bills over the project’s 25-year life.
That earlier effort can inform this new proposal, Hasquet said. But Chugach Electric has no details proposed for this new round, Hasquet said.
“Understanding the concerns of the RCA with our previous project should help us craft a project that could get regulatory approval,” Hasquet said. “Many factors still need to be determined, including size, scope, and costs.”
[A small Fairbanks company wants to build Alaska’s biggest wind farms]
Chugach Electric recently sent a survey to “the more than 600 members who had shown interest in our 2017/2018 community solar project,” Hasquet said in an email. “We had a list of members who had asked to be kept informed of progress on a project. We believe that is a good place to start on determining the feasibility of a newly designed project.”

Groups working on draft legislation
The Alaska Public Interest Research Group is working with groups such as The Alaska Center to finalize draft legislation that could help enable the creation of the projects in Alaska, if it is approved by the Legislature, said Phil Wight, a policy analyst with the group.
The consumer interest group supports community solar farms because they’re another way to lower electric rates, he said. The Alaska Center also highlights climate benefits as another good outcome, as solar power replaces energy from fossil-fuel sources such as natural gas.
Legislation supporting community solar farms could create jobs, diversify the economy and help Alaska achieve its goal of 50% renewable energy by 2025, said Rachel Christensen, clean energy organizer with The Alaska Center.
[CIRI looks to triple power at Fire Island wind farm]
Wight said it’s a promising time for the projects in part because tax credits in the federal Inflation Reduction Act passed in August could cut project costs in half, or more.
“It’s really about bringing the lowest-cost energy to Alaskans,” he said.

Originally published on November 27, 2022 by the Anchorage Daily News.\n\n[/cs_content_seo][/cs_element_layout_column][/cs_element_layout_row][/cs_element_section][/cs_content]

Bringing Community Solar To Alaska

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[cs_content][cs_element_section _id=”1″ ][cs_element_layout_row _id=”2″ ][cs_element_layout_column _id=”3″ ][cs_element_text _id=”4″ ][cs_content_seo]Renewable energy has become quite the buzz phrase in our world these days. Sometimes it takes other forms; clean energy, green energy, sustainable energy, but it is scattered through ads on radio stations, tv commercials, and even announced over the loudspeakers at airports. Sometimes through all this noise, it is hard to understand what renewable energy means to the average person. 
The Inflation Reduction Act passed this summer included groundbreaking funding for renewable energy projects, as did the Bipartisan Infrastructure Package that passed in the months before. With this new funding, utility cooperatives across the state are (or at least should be) looking for new renewable energy projects to bring onto the grid, which will benefit all Alaskans. 
Transitioning our state away from fossil fuels and into cleaner energy sources creates better air quality, and less pollution to our water sources and wildlife habitat. It will ultimately give us cheaper and more sustainable energy. However, right now in Alaska, affordable renewable energy is more accessible for folks with resources to invest in their small-scale solar or wind projects. It is time for that to change. 
Community solar is a system where individuals can invest in and share the benefits of a solar array not located on their property. Each person who holds a share of the community solar array will see their portion of clean, sustainable energy on their utility bill each month. You can start to reap the benefits of having a solar setup without the upfront cost that so many of us can’t afford. This also opens up solar energy to people who have yet to participate: renters, condo owners, and anyone who doesn’t have space in their backyard or roof for a solar system can join the solar movement. It democratizes the energy transition and allows more Alaskans to contribute to and earn returns from renewable energy. 
While 41 states already have community solar arrays, the great state of Alaska is one of the few without one installation. Many people may not think of solar when they think of Alaska, yet they should. Our winters may be long and dark, but the sunlight hours we have access to in the summer make up for the winter and then some. In fact, for seven months out of the year, Anchorage gets more hours of daily sunlight than anywhere in the contiguous US! 
Community solar is a step forward for our state that can be unlocked with policy change. Our leaders in Juneau can make community solar available to all Alaskans with some simple regulatory changes. Community solar is just one of many great opportunities for Alaska; we have immense renewable energy potential that our elected leaders can and should tap into. This coming legislative session, we can push them to do it. We will keep you updated as the legislative session unfolds on how you can take action to make Community Solar a reality in Alaska.

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A Just Transition to an Indigenized Future

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[cs_content][cs_element_section _id=”1″ ][cs_element_layout_row _id=”2″ ][cs_element_layout_column _id=”3″ ][cs_element_text _id=”4″ ][cs_content_seo]November is Native American Heritage Month. Here in Alaska, this means centering the people who have shaped this land since time immemorial. Around 20% of Alaska’s population is Indigenous, but Native culture plays a much more significant role in our history and in our future. Alaska Natives have stewarded these lands successfully for 10,000 years – we live every day on Native Land. Native American Heritage Month is a time to reflect on this legacy of stewardship and look forward.
To heal from past crimes and solve our most dire social and political problems, we must work to Decolonize and Indigenize our ways of life. As a conservation organization, this means owning our place in colonizing history. It also means looking at new ways to understand and build a future together. It means learning from elders and revitalizing Native languages; upholding self-determination for tribes and shifting funding to Native tribes, villages, and organizations; living within the limits of the land and eating local foods, and deep listening. Everyone who lives in Alaska – Native or not – can do these things.
This reframing, collective healing, and visioning are what a Just Transition aims to do. “Just Transition” refers to a transition away from extractive industries and practices like oil and gas and historically colonial ideas of community and economy. A Just Transition moves us towards practices informed by Indigenous knowledge. A Just Transition doesn’t aim to return us to the world as it was before settlers set foot in Alaska; a Just Transition seeks to choose policies that will be best for all Alaskans.
We already see examples of Just Transition principles at work. We see it in the recent election of Mary Peltola, the first Alaska Native woman in Congress. We see it in the failure of ANWR lease sales and the emergence of small-scale solar projects in rural Alaska. We see Just Transition embodied in Native leadership at all levels of government, including in the co-management of Alaskan lands and waters. And we see it in the reemergence of Native languages in our schools and towns. These accomplishments, and many more, are thanks to the hard work and vision of Indigenous leaders across the state.
But we have so much work left to do.
Next week, our state and country will head to the polls. These are the lands of the Dena’ina, Tlingit, Haida, Ahtna, Sugpiak, Tanana Dene, Yup’ik, Inupiat, and so many more, and our politics must reflect this. We must ensure that Native communities have full and unrestricted access to voting by translating ballots and information into Native languages, providing voting assistance for elders, and streamlining voter registration and voting by mail. We must elect leaders who will represent all Alaskans. We need Native leadership and leadership that listens to Native communities. The table needs to expand. A transition is inevitable; justice is not. However, those sitting at our decision-making tables can ensure that the transition is a just one and no Alaskans are left behind.
Voting is a vision for the future. Our choices at the polls must reflect our understanding and history with these lands, but they also must shine a light toward a thriving future for All Alaskans.
Happy Native American Heritage Month, and happy voting.
Don’t forget to have your absentee ballot postmarked or go vote in-person by November 8. This is a huge election and our values are on the line.
The Alaska Center

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