Tag Archive for: clean energy

An RPS Revival

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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]The Renewable Portfolio Standard (RPS) policy has been revived and resurrected from the past legislature, and looks at this point much better than the version that died in committee last year. SB 101 was recently introduced in the Senate, and a companion was introduced in the House, HB 121. These bills establish renewable energy benchmarks for electric utilities to meet in an effort to transform our electric energy sources away from fossil fuels. Like last year’s proposal, utilities would be required to provide electricity from renewable energy resources in the following percentages and by the following dates – 25% by December 31, 2027; 55% by December 31, 2035; and 80% by December 31, 2040. If a good faith effort is not made by utilities to reach these percentages, fines are levied.
Unlike last year’s severely watered-down and over-complicated version – this new legislation starts fresh. It does not allow nuclear energy to be considered “renewable,” nor does it allow waste heat recovery from natural gas combustion to be categorized as “renewable.” Both items will surely be on the utility wish list for amendments to the RPS as it moves forward. To increase residential solar energy as a way of contributing more renewable electrons to the grid, the new RPS policy modifies the existing net energy metering policy by allowing home and business owners who put up solar panels and accrue credits for the energy production beyond what they use, to use these credits throughout the year. Current regulations require that all surplus energy is credited to your next month’s bill. This RPS also sweetens the solar pot by requiring that the credits for surplus energy be at the utility’s retail rate. Current solar regulations nickel-and-dime home solar producers by crediting their surplus energy at a much lower rate.
Anticipate electric utilities uniformly chafing at the idea of having their investment decisions mandated by the legislature, but don’t be fooled – transmission, generation, and distribution of electricity are inextricably linked to public regulation and swayed by public policy decisions. This happens daily, across the nation. To be fair, these decisions are complex. The process of filing tariffs and making rate cases before regulators can be time-consuming and costly, but it is simply the price of doing business as a utility.
Utility managers have a unique advantage in swaying lawmakers as they are the experts in the energy field, while most of our elected officials juggle general knowledge of multiple matters and seek out experts to inform their decisions. Hence, when a complex piece of legislation is brought up in committee, those with significant technical, financial, and legal knowledge are often given greater deference. However, in the case of our unique, member-owned, Board of Director-governed non-profit utilities, we Alaskan rate-payers need to be heard, loudly, in the legislative process. We are the ones paying extremely high electric rates as the price of natural gas increases due to looming supply shortages.
This is the right time for an RPS policy. The legislature has recently mandated that utilities work together to craft system reliability standards and a planning process for new generation. The federal government has unleashed billions of dollars for renewable energy, including a direct payment for non-profit utilities that build new renewable generation facilities. Utility managers are working together more collaboratively than in decades past on upgrading the railbelt transmission system and battery storage facilities. Also, of vast importance, the price of renewable energy is plummeting at a rate never before seen in history. At the same time, we are tied to a monopoly supply of natural gas in the Cook Inlet basin, ever increasing in cost despite years of subsidies from the state’s general fund.
Let’s keep the new RPS policy from falling prey to complex and unending rewrites and delay tactics, utility in-fighting, byzantine attorney tricks, and old costly dogmas about Alaska always and forever needing oil and gas to thrive. It’s time we move in an orderly fashion into the future that is renewable energy guided by a clear RPS policy. Write your legislators today, tell them Alaskans support the RPS.
Keep up the good work, friends, and we will talk to 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 always changing moods of Juneau

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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]Greetings from Juneau – It was calm and clear when we arrived by night, sunny the next morning, then a front moved in the next day with wind and light snow that swept off the eves in great somber flags. By evening this had turned to rain, and the snow removal equipment was busy moving sloppy snow around the streets. Two-wheel drive cars performed their usual icecapade dances down the steep streets near the capitol, veering, sliding, and spinning out.
The talk in the capital this week was at first on education funding, and then the Senate Majority released their plan to bring back a defined benefit pension program for new and existing state workers. There was a rally for gun safety legislation on the capitol steps. No gun safety legislation has been filed, and few legislators want to make it an issue this year, though a red flag law bill was introduced last year. Education funding and the pension plan will remain the foundation of discussion and negotiation throughout the session and likely into next year. The new House Republican Majority – with many members holding gavels for the first time in their legislative careers – has been likened to a group of people out on the open ocean building a ship as they go along, much less supplying it with provisions or charting a course.
By the numbers – with moderate Bush Caucus Democrats and Independents and a moderate Republican or two in the House Majority combined with the House Democratic minority and the Bi-partisan Super Majority in the Senate, the votes are there to pass some form of pension reform and provide a much-needed boost to our education system’s funding. The committee chairmanship in the House is what greatly complicates the equation. The chairs of the House Education, House State Affairs, and other key standing committees wield power to stop these efforts in their tracks, consigning them to the graveyard of bills or holding them as a ransom for whatever far-right policy is on the caucus wish list. That there is a huge problem because the House Majority has not articulated a vision or a policy platform of any coherency, so it is hard to tell what end-of-session horse-trading might look like.
We are here mainly to talk about our democracy platform – opposition to the repeal of Ranked Choice Voting (RCV) and support for broad omnibus elections bills that include ballot curing and postage paid by mail envelopes. We have met with numerous Senators, Representatives, Staffers, Communications folks, Lobbyists, and Passers-By and have not heard from anyone that the bills seeking to repeal RCV stand a chance. We expect some traction this year on SB 19, elections legislation sponsored by Senator Kawasaki. We bet that SB 19 will pass this year from the Senate to the House. In the House, the bill has to go through the House State Affairs and the House Judiciary committees and Judiciary is chaired by Rep. Vance, who is an election denier, sponsor of an RCV repeal bill, and generally not a lawmaker you want within a hundred yards of any election policy discussion.
We also circled back from our previous visit with lawmakers regarding our clean energy priorities, including a Renewable Portfolio Standard, a state Green Bank, the extension of the Renewable Energy Fund, and legislation to grow Community Solar installations (or Gardens, as we prefer to call them) in Alaska. Good News Flash! We expect a Community Solar bill to be introduced very, very, very soon, and the House and Senate bills to extend the Renewable Energy fund are hurrying through the process like formula one race cars. Both are idling now in their respective Finance committees, the last pit-stop until passage.
We will update you next week when the vibe and the weather have changed a hundred times over.
As always,
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]

Solarize Comes to the Northern Valley

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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]The Alaska Center has selected the Talkeetna area to participate in this year’s Solarize program. Solarize is a community-driven nation-wide program with a mission to make solar more accessible and affordable with neighborhood economies of scale. The program is open to all Mat-Su residents, extending from Palmer to Trapper Creek.
The Alaska Center handles the bid process and selects installers that can provide the best options for the lowest cost to residents. Most residents offset some or most of their electricity using solar to lower their overall costs. Rachel Christensen, Clean Energy Organizer for the Alaska Center, explains some of the benefits of joining the program.
“We Solarize as a community so that not only are you doing it, but also your neighbors are doing it so there is that extra sense of community. You can lean on other people for advice on things, but also lean on us for any help that you might need.”
After a fall 2022 workshop, the organizers recognized and adapted the program for the northern Valley’s unique needs. Many Talkeetna and Trapper Creek residents are off-grid, but most participants are on-grid. Solarize is exploring the option to provide solar for off-grid homes. Christensen explains more about the possibilities.
“Some of the installers that we’re working with this year have shown interest in providing off-grid options. So we’re going to have those conversations with the installers in the coming couple weeks. They have shown interest so we’re not saying that it cannot happen, we’re just not sure what it’s going to look like yet.”
Christensen explains that the range in size of solar setups makes it difficult to give an average cost. But for a larger system, the cost may range from $10,000 to $20,000 with a ten-year payoff time frame. Solar panels often last more than 20 years, but can lose efficiency over time.
The Solarize program is in the process of selecting installers for this season and there is still time for residents to sign up through the Alaska Center.

Originally published on February 28, 2023 by KTNA\n\n[/cs_content_seo][/cs_element_layout_column][/cs_element_layout_row][/cs_element_section][/cs_content]

Do Your Damnedest, and Fight

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With Representative David Eastman grabbing headlines as he is prone to through his outrageous, racist, stupid, dull, and performative statements, and with Senator Murkowski offering the sobering reminder that our great state is losing population like a deflating balloon, it is tempting to fall into the trap of the February blahs.

Take heart! The fact that the whole State House unanimously and rapidly condemned Eastman’s latest statements on the deaths of violently abused children is a sign that we have not lost our collective sanity. The fact that Education funding is top of mind with many lawmakers is a sign that we have an eye on the state’s future. The fact that a multipartisan caucus of first-year lawmakers has formed in the House and a mega-gigantic super bipartisan majority has formed in the Senate is important.

We have seen food security, bycatch reduction, and renewable energy become more than just vague talking points on the lips of our politicians over the past few years. We have seen our federal delegation come together to support broad infrastructure legislation. We have a new marine highway vessel in the works. The Pebble Mine has been set back significantly by the Environmental Protection Agency. Juneteenth and Indigenous Peoples Day have just been added as Anchorage Municipal holidays. Things are looking up (perhaps we caught the eddy in the metaphorical climate change river rushing towards floods, searing heat waves, drought, pestilence, and swarms of insects).

Now is not the time to give up.

In the immortal lines of poet Robert Service, “You’re sick of the game!” Well, now, that’s a shame. You’re young, and you’re brave, and you’re bright. “You’ve had a raw deal!” I know — but don’t squeal, Buck up, do your damnedest, and fight. It’s the plugging away that will win you the day, So don’t be a piker, old pard! Just draw on your grit; it’s so easy to quit: It’s the keeping-your-chin-up that’s hard.
We will be back in Juneau next week, meeting with lawmakers on our priority Democracy legislation. The specific bills we are supporting are SB 19 and HB 37, which would require the Alaska Division of Elections would to provide stamped return envelopes for absentee ballots, automatically check voters’ signatures, allow voters to fix their absentee ballot signature if there’s a problem, and create a ballot-tracking system viewable by the public. While the effort to repeal our Ranked Choice Voting/Open Primary law will go nowhere in the legislature (but will be a significant fight as a ballot proposition), bills to protect voters’ rights are in the hopper. These must move forward to ensure that all votes, and all voices, are heard in these critical elections that will help rebuild our state.

We will also circle back with lawmakers on our priority clean energy legislation: extension of the Renewable Energy Fund, creation of a Community Solar law, a Renewable Portfolio Standard, and a Green Bank for Alaska. The passage of these bills will help us create the Alaska we want to see for our children and grandchildren.

Thank you for your support,
The Alaska Center

In the shadow of the clean energy wave

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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]Since the passage of the federal Inflation Reduction Act (IRA) last summer, there has been a sense that a great tsunami is brewing, originating in Washington D.C. (at the Department of Treasury, Department of Energy, Environmental Protection Agency, and other solemn bureaucratic bunkers) rumbling and growing and about to sweep across the nation with transformational power.
In the interim between the passage of the act and the process of developing rules and programs to implement the IRA, skeptics have filled the void with dark muttering about the cost (while ignoring the cost of the Trump tax cuts and ignoring the cost of doing nothing on climate change) and the States, Local Governments, Tribes, Utilities, Nonprofits and others who will see the benefit have endured a vague worry that they are not doing enough to prepare, not hiring enough grant writers and researchers and/or creating programs that can receive federal funds.
We know the following is about to roll across the nation: $9 Billion in Home Energy Rebates, $1 Billion in Energy Code Assistance, $14 Billion in Clean Energy Business Loans, $ 9 Billion in Energy Grid upgrades, $1 Billion for Affordable Housing, $7 Billion for Clean Transportation, $277 Billion in Energy Tax Credits, $27 Billion for the Greenhouse Gas Reduction Fund, $3 Billion for Environmental Justice Block Grants, $12 Billion for Rural Energy Assistance, $2.6 Billion for Coastal Climate Resilience programs, and $7 Billion for various other clean energy initiatives. Soon programs associated with these pots of money will start to take shape, and that is when we will begin to see the impacts of this most historic investment.
On Feb. 14, the Environmental Protection Agency rolled out its plans for the $27 Billion Greenhouse Gas Reduction Fund with a goal to open up competitive funding rounds this summer for two separate programs – a General and Low Income Assistance competition and a Zero Emissions Technology Fund competition. Also recently, the Department of Energy created the Office of State and Community Energy Programs to implement programs flowing from the IRA and the previous Bipartisan Infrastructure Law.
Don’t expect to go to sleep in an unjust, carbon-belching world and wake up in an electric futurama where environmental equity is solved. The IRA is going to take time. Probably the benefit of many programs will not be fully realized before the next presidential election. While it is up to the Biden Administration to tell the story of the clean energy, clean transportation, clean jobs, and resilient infrastructure, the environmental justice in the IRA, the transformation spurred by the IRA will well outlast this administration and the subsequent foreseeable administrations.
Some things will be realized sooner than later. The energy tax credits alone, with the provision that nonprofit utilities can receive a direct payment for renewable energy generation – this will completely transform the economics of the construction and operation of grid-scale wind, hydro, and solar in the near term. We also know right now that those paternalistic Boomer tropes about petroleum being the lifeblood of the American economy will soon be shaken, and soon, with the rumblings of the oncoming clean energy tsunami.
You can get involved as soon as next week! On Feb. 22 at 3 PM, the EPA will hold a listening session to hear ideas from community-based organizations and grassroots energy and environmental justice organizations to create an effective and equitable Home Energy Rebate program. >>> Register here
On Feb. 23, 9 AM, the EPA will hold a similar listening session but for equity-focused implementors and advocacy organizations. >>> Register here
Reach out to your lawmaker and Governor Dunleavy and ensure they know that you support their efforts to create programs in Alaska that can utilize the firehose of federal funding.
Take care,
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]

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