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Tag Archive for: climate

Breaking Down the Alphabet Soup: Big Win for Renewable Energy!

February 9, 2024/in Blog, Clean Energy, Climate, Legislative Session

Navigating the clean energy world can feel like staring at a bowl of alphabet soup. “Did you hear GVEA & CEA voted for an RPS that would fall under RCA and RRC jurisdiction?” For those of us who didn’t totally follow that, we’ll break down what happened during the first few weeks of the legislative session, and what that means for clean energy in Alaska – without using any acronyms. 

During the week of January 22, the two largest electric utility providers in Alaska passed resolutions in support of a Renewable Portfolio Standard.

A Renewable Portfolio Standard would establish a timeline for utility providers along the railbelt to transition to more renewable energy sources. We believe that this transition is not only critical for addressing our rapidly changing climate, but also for securing stable and reliable opportunities for Alaskans as the clean energy sector jobs continue to expand and oil and gas jobs decrease. 

In Fairbanks, the Golden Valley Electric Association unanimously adopted a statement that indicates general support for the goals of a Renewable Portfolio Standard, but outlines specific concerns about the current version of the bill in the state legislature. The following evening in Anchorage, the Chugach Electric Association passed a resolution supporting the establishment of a Renewable Portfolio Standard for the state. 

We are thrilled to see these utility providers recognize the importance of a Renewable Portfolio Standard, and now we’re asking the legislature to take the next step.

The current Renewable Portfolio Standard bills in the state legislature are Senate Bill 101 and House Bill 121, which propose a transition to 80% renewable energy by 2040. In order to work out the details and address concerns raised by utilities, legislative committees must hold public hearings on these bills and allow the legislative process to function. Call your legislators and let them know you would like to see a hearing scheduled! 

Also before the end of January, the Senate Labor & Commerce Committee held a public hearing on Senate Bill 152, which would establish a Community Solar program. This program would allow Alaskans to purchase shares in solar gardens that are not on their own properties, opening solar power up to many more consumers and creating more job opportunities in our state. It would create standards for all utilities along the railbelt that are subject to the oversight of the Regulatory Commission of Alaska. 

Great news: this is widely popular! Several of you called or wrote in to testify in support of Community Solar, and many more of you signed a petition online supporting the bill. No action was taken on the issue following the hearing, as legislators had additional questions for utility providers who were unable to be present due to weather conditions. 

Don’t let the alphabet soup get in the way of advocating for your community. All of these acronyms add up to big potential for our state, and you don’t have to be an energy expert to take action now. Sign up here to get involved with our advocacy, and stay tuned for how you can continue to support these major policy issues throughout the legislative session!

Together for a renewable future,

The Alaska Center

https://akcenter.org/wp-content/uploads/2024/02/Email-Banner-1200x400-2500-x-625-px.png 625 2500 Carissa https://akcenter.org/wp-content/uploads/2025/02/the-alaska-center-with-tag.svg Carissa2024-02-09 18:57:052024-02-09 18:57:05Breaking Down the Alphabet Soup: Big Win for Renewable Energy!

It’s Time to Shift the Power in 2024!

December 15, 2023/in Blog, Clean Energy, Climate, Democracy, Salmon

[cs_content][cs_element_section _id=”1″ ][cs_element_layout_row _id=”2″ ][cs_element_layout_column _id=”3″ ][cs_element_layout_div _id=”4″ ][cs_element_text _id=”5″ ][cs_content_seo]Can you feel the energy? It’s time for a significant change – a shift in power!\n\n[/cs_content_seo][/cs_element_layout_div][cs_element_gap _id=”6″ ][cs_element_button _id=”7″ ][cs_content_seo]Support Our Work – Donate!\n\n[/cs_content_seo][cs_element_gap _id=”8″ ][cs_element_text _id=”9″ ][cs_content_seo]The concept of shifting power, whether in societal dynamics or energy generation, symbolizes a transformative journey with far-reaching effects. Socially, it means championing inclusivity, equitable decision-making, and elevating diverse voices for a fairer and more balanced society. In terms of electricity, power is the lifeblood of our modern existence. Technological progress has enabled us to harness and distribute energy like never before, but the methods of its generation often compromise our community’s well being and our planet’s future.
Together, let’s SHIFT THE POWER. Let’s redirect it towards individuals historically excluded from impactful decisions, and pivot away from energy sources that endanger our planet. Your support is crucial in this mission to Shift the Power!
This year at The Alaska Center, we set high goals: advocating for community solar legislation, safeguarding our cherished salmon, and protecting our democracy. Thanks to our generous donors, we achieved these goals and more. In collaboration with partners, we advanced climate policy initiatives, introduced community solar legislation, progressed in restoring salmon to the Eklutna River, and supported successful local candidates statewide.
In the Anchorage Assembly races, every candidate we endorsed won. In Fairbanks, we secured six essential seats in the Borough Assembly and School Board. Plus, our efforts in utility cooperatives resulted in electing two clean energy advocates to the Chugach Electric Association board.
Looking towards 2024, we’re energized and ready to harness this momentum. To Shift the Power, we need your continued support.
Your contribution will help us create a just, thriving, and sustainable Alaska. It will empower Alaskans who share our values to take meaningful action. With your help, we can make a significant impact in 2024!
It’s Time to Shift the Power – Support Us Today!\n\n[/cs_content_seo][cs_element_gap _id=”10″ ][cs_element_button _id=”11″ ][cs_content_seo]Contribute Today & Power Our Work!\n\n[/cs_content_seo][cs_element_gap _id=”12″ ][cs_element_text _id=”13″ ][cs_content_seo]Thank you for being a part of this journey,Alison Lum, Development DirectorThe Alaska Center\n\n[/cs_content_seo][/cs_element_layout_column][/cs_element_layout_row][/cs_element_section][/cs_content]

https://akcenter.org/wp-content/uploads/2023/12/2023-EOY-Email-Banners-1200-x-400-px-8.png 400 1200 Carissa https://akcenter.org/wp-content/uploads/2025/02/the-alaska-center-with-tag.svg Carissa2023-12-15 19:54:292023-12-15 19:54:29It’s Time to Shift the Power in 2024!

A Big Step Forward For Climate

August 19, 2022/in Blog, Clean Energy, Climate

The passage of the most historic climate legislation in U.S. history should give us a moment of hope for the process of lawmaking and Democracy in our country – a brief, sweet moment of exaltation.

Now on the next beat, as heatwaves, wildfires, and floods rage across the globe, we must also take some time to recognize the urgent need for the legislation and the bitter tradeoffs that occurred with the passage of the Inflation Reduction Act (IRA). We are looking at the sacrifice of millions of acres of offshore oil and gas leases in Alaska, the Gulf of Mexico, and elsewhere before federal leases for renewable energy production can be offered. This means, in many instances, especially in Alaska, that coastal and Indigenous lands are Joe Manchin’s tradeoff for the compromise that got the bill through congress. This is a bad compromise, even with the IRA’s historic investment in environmental justice.

On the next beat, it is good to remind ourselves that this is just the starting point for a much larger race to save the planet, defeat racism and protect Democracy. The majority of Americans are with us, and momentum continues toward a just future.
Many of the provisions of the IRA will reverberate in Alaska. The bill contains important apprenticeship and wage requirements that will provide good jobs for Alaskans, and makes sure the clean energy industry catches up to the union-created standards of working that the fossil fuel industry requires.

The IRA substantially increases support for the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA)’s existing efforts to address methane emissions. It creates a new system of fees that would impose charges on oil and gas infrastructure owners if methane emitted from that infrastructure exceeds specified thresholds. Methane emissions are a significant problem for Alaska’s aging oil and gas infrastructure. Methane is a potent greenhouse gas causing steep increases in global temperatures.

The IRA will extend and create clean energy tax credits, including the existing tax credit for electricity produced from renewable resources, which has been a major benefit to the Solarize Anchorage, Fairbanks, Kenai, and Mat-Su programs. The IRA also creates a new tax credit that rural electric cooperatives like ours on the railbelt in Alaska can apply for to finance new clean energy generation facilities. This will make policies to require utilities to adopt renewable energy generation (like the Renewable Portfolio Standard) more financially achievable in the near term.

The IRA creates a Greenhouse Gas Reduction Fund to be funded at $27 billion over the next decade to better leverage private sector investment and community lenders to build wind, solar, electric vehicle, and energy efficiency projects at the community level. Of that money, $7 billion will go directly to state-operated Green Banks. The legislation to establish an Alaska state Green Bank will likely be re-introduced in Alaska in the 2023 legislative session. (Note that previous legislation proposed to put the Green Bank in the Alaska Industrial Development and Export Authority, an agency that lacks transparency and accountability, so many groups opposed this.) With your help, we can ensure that a state Green Bank in a more trusted agency like the Alaska Housing Finance Corporation becomes a reality.
The transition to clean transportation is facilitated by a $4,000 consumer credit for lower/middle income individuals (i.e., couples making less than $300,000 and individuals $150,000 annually) to buy used electric vehicles and a $7,500 tax credit to buy new electric vehicles. We must advocate with our local utilities and governments to continue the rapid build-out of fast charging stations in Alaska.
With the passage of the IRA, there will be many programs and opportunities for individuals, homeowners, business owners, utilities, local governments, state agencies, Tribes, Native Corporations, and NGOs to save energy costs, decrease emissions, and more in Alaska. We need to work with our elected leaders to ensure that the benefits of the new legislation move forward with equity and at a speed that meets the moment of our climate crisis.

Onward!
The Alaska Center

https://akcenter.org/wp-content/uploads/2022/08/Hot-Takes-Banner-1.png 400 1200 Leah Moss https://akcenter.org/wp-content/uploads/2025/02/the-alaska-center-with-tag.svg Leah Moss2022-08-19 18:32:152025-01-06 05:29:08A Big Step Forward For Climate

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