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Tag Archive for: the alaska center

PRIDE!!!

June 10, 2022/in Accountability, Blog, Democracy

[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]At The Alaska Center, we believe a true democracy is one in which all Alaskans feel safe, respected, and able to participate in the decisions impacting our communities; and when all Alaskans feel reflected and represented.
Today’s blog is dedicated to PRIDE Month. Pride is more than rainbow memes and merch; it is about the uplifting of Lesbian Gay Bisexual Transgender Questioning (LGBTQ+) voices, hearts, and culture and the protection of LGBTQ+ rights. It is a declaration of direct action and care. It is the remembrance that our inalienable rights were not codified by pen and paper, but love and rage turned to action at an anti-police brutality riot in June 1969. This is the history our work builds from. As allies and activists, we must honor and remember this truth. We must hold this truth when we grow our movements, build our tables, and cast our ballots.
This year, rampant attacks on Transgender people and women’s bodily autonomy swept through the nation and played out right here at home, during the Alaska legislative session. SB140, a bill that would ban transgender girls from playing sports, narrowly passed to be then tabled by three votes on the Senate floor. Our House failed to pass HB17, the anti-discrimination bill that would protect LGBTQ Alaskans, again. In Anchorage, community spaces that should be places of safety, learning, and belonging- like our public library- are threatened by ignorant leadership and harmful actions like banning books.
For years, the policies and actions of our leaders have continued to tell LGBTQ+ Alaskans that they are not protected or valued. All of this is why diligence and action are essential. This is why voting accessibility and education matter so much. It’s why holding our leaders accountable to all our community members is paramount. And it’s why we must come together as a community and bask in our joyous resilience now.
Actively seeking and creating joy is a revolutionary act and ensuring that those joyful voices are heard is at the heart of our work.
Pride events are happening across the state, and we hope to be there to celebrate and amplify in as many spaces as we can this month!
Be sure to check in with your local LGBTQ+ leaders to support the events and communities in your area.

Girdwood is hosting a third annual Pride Parade on June 17 at 7 pm 

Homer Pride is hosting a Juneteenth X Homer Pride Community Walk on June 18 from 12-3 pm 

Anchorage, head down to Writer’s Block on June 25 from 12 pm-6 pm for the Fourth Annual Pride Block Party. More details on Facebook >>  

Fairbanks Queer Collective has an event guide! More info can be found on their Facebook page or website! 

Underground Pride and the Queen’s Guard is hosting a celebration for all of their LGBTQ+ families and allies in the Mat-Su Valley! 

Native Movement is hosting several events this month: their 3rd annual Diversity in the OUTdoors, individuals can submit videos until June 13

Indigiqueer/LGBT2S Caspeq Workshop June 18 &19, and Drag Story Hour June 30- see their FB page for more info! 

The League of Conservation Voters is hosting an “Out to Win” webinar”: LGBTQ+ candidates can face special challenges on the campaign trail, especially in more conservative parts of the country. They’ll talk with two LGBTQ+ elected leaders and hear their tips on successfully running and legislating. June 21, 2022, 10 am PT/1 pm ET Join the webinar.

Wherever you are we hope all of you find a reason to celebrate. To our queer friends, family, coworkers, and partners in this work- we love you so very much, and we will always fight with you.
Happy Pride Month!
The Alaska Center Team\n\n[/cs_content_seo][cs_element_gap _id=”5″ ][cs_element_image _id=”6″ ][/cs_element_layout_column][/cs_element_layout_row][/cs_element_section][/cs_content]

https://akcenter.org/wp-content/uploads/2022/06/pridebanner.png 400 1200 Leah Moss https://akcenter.org/wp-content/uploads/2025/02/the-alaska-center-with-tag.svg Leah Moss2022-06-10 20:16:582022-06-10 20:16:58PRIDE!!!

Hot Takes in A Cold Place: You Can Stop Pebble Mine

June 3, 2022/in Accountability, Blog, Salmon

[cs_content][cs_element_section _id=”1″ ][cs_element_layout_row _id=”2″ ][cs_element_layout_column _id=”3″ ][cs_element_button _id=”4″ ][cs_content_seo]TAKE ACTION TO STOP PEBBLE MINE\n\n[/cs_content_seo][cs_element_gap _id=”5″ ][cs_element_text _id=”6″ ][cs_content_seo]“Life is short, art long, opportunity fleeting, experience treacherous, judgment difficult” – Hippocrates
That nifty aphorism could apply to the fight against the Pebble Mine aside from the difficulty of judgment part. It is a long fight, seemingly a generational fight, but the one thing we know is that a majority of Alaskans have judged this project to be the wrong mine in the wrong place. Over 2 million comments have been sent to the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) opposing the mine. As for opportunity – now is the time is now to stop this mine in its tracks. 
EPA took an important step on May 26 by opening public comment on a Proposed Determination: “to prohibit and restrict the use of certain waters in the South Fork Koktuli River, North Fork Koktuli River, and Upper Talarik Creek watersheds as disposal sites for the discharge of dredged or fill material associated with mining the Pebble deposit, a copper-, gold-, and molybdenum-bearing ore body located in Southwest Alaska.” In its draft determination, the EPA proposes prohibiting the construction and operation of Pebble’s 2020 mine plan and restricting any future mining of the Pebble deposit to a size less than Pebble’s 2020 mine plan.  
We know that the relatively modest but still unacceptable mine plan put forward by Pebble in 2020 is just the camel’s nose under the tent. The actual plans are to initiate massive industrialization of the Bristol Bay Watershed with roads, mines, power plants, pipelines, processing facilities, mine waste sites, oil drums, barges, trucks, dust, noise, halogen light, diesel exhaust, garbage dumps, mining towns, saloons, brothels, gambling, etc. Boxing in the Pebble project to a relatively “small” footprint means that the mine will not be developed. Due to the amount of earth that must be displaced and moved and dumped elsewhere and the infrastructure and power development needs for Pebble, only a gigantic mine would turn a profit. Small mine most likely means no mine.
Public comments are due on July 5. The proposed determination stage is when the public gets the opportunity to comment. After considering public comment, the EPA then prepares a recommended determination. After that, EPA makes a final determination. So, this is an important step in the process because it’s the one opportunity for public comment, but EPA still has a couple more steps to go after this. We’re hopeful that EPA will move forward to quickly get to a final determination and stop Pebble Mine for good! 
Raise your voice today in support of Bristol Bay, her salmon, and the cultures and livelihoods that depend upon them. This precious resource is breathtaking in its abundance, but it is under siege. In all of its ecological intricacy, the Bristol Bay watershed is protecting the viability and diversity of Bristol Bay salmon in the face of climate change, ocean acidification, and other threats. We must stand together to protect the watershed. Please submit a comment to the EPA supporting the protection of the watershed from the Pebble Mine.
Together we can do this!
Thank you for your voice,The Alaska Center Team\n\n[/cs_content_seo][cs_element_gap _id=”7″ ][cs_element_button _id=”8″ ][cs_content_seo]STOP PEBBLE MINE PREMANENTLY\n\n[/cs_content_seo][/cs_element_layout_column][/cs_element_layout_row][/cs_element_section][/cs_content]

https://akcenter.org/wp-content/uploads/2022/06/stoppebbleblog.png 400 1200 Leah Moss https://akcenter.org/wp-content/uploads/2025/02/the-alaska-center-with-tag.svg Leah Moss2022-06-03 20:55:172022-06-03 20:55:17Hot Takes in A Cold Place: You Can Stop Pebble Mine

Hot Takes In A Cold Place: The Legislative Session Rides Off

May 27, 2022/in Blog, Climate, Democracy, Leg with Louie, Legislative Session

[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]Thank you, thank you, thank you to everyone who advocated on bills and budget items this past legislative session. Through your phenomenal effort, we stopped numerous bad bills, settled on a budget that promotes public education and put the brakes on Dunleavy’s move to take over development permitting in sensitive wetland habitats from the EPA.
To recap. Due to your advocacy via letter writing, emails, phone calls, social media pressure, and direct grassroots citizen lobbying, the following bills passed the Legislature and are headed to the Governor’s desk:

Tribal Recognition! HB 123 by Rep. Tiffany Zulkosky passed and will require the State of Alaska to recognize Alaska’s federally recognized tribes. The federal government has a special and unique relationship with tribes that the State formally acknowledges. HB 123 will codify in Alaska law that federally recognized tribes are sovereign governments. It does not change any legal relationship. State recognition of Tribes will honor the first peoples of this land and the historical, economic, and cultural value they bring to the State.
Update to Alaska Sexual Consent Law: HB 325 by Rep. Sara Rasmussen was amended to include HB 5 by Rep. Geran Tarr and changes Alaska’s 40-year-old sexual consent statutes to change how sexual assault can be prosecuted by modernizing the definition of consent.
CPACE expansion: HB 227 legislation by Rep. Calvin Schrage to expand the Commercial Property Assessed Clean Energy statute to include upgrades that improve the climate resiliency of commercial properties.
Broadband Expansion: HB 363 by Rep. Bryce Edgmon establishes the Office of Broadband to prioritize the expansion of high-quality, affordable broadband access to unserved and underserved communities and positions Alaska to receive unprecedented amounts of federal funding for broadband expansion statewide.

On the other side of the coin, you helped stop a slew of bad bills:

SB 39 worked to undermine local control of elections, suppress voting in Alaska, and take away the legal mechanism that adds thousands of new voters annually through Alaska’s Permanent Fund dividend – the automatic voter registration statute.
HB 398 would have made it impossible for Alaskans to protect waters of high ecological value as Tier III waters under the Clean Water Act.
SB 97 sought to give the Department of Natural Resources the power to authorize commercial development on any state land regardless of its status in an area land use plan and to repeal the Recreational River statutes that protect six popular and anadromous Mat-Su rivers: The Little Susitna River, The Deshka River, The Talkeetna River, Lake Creek, Alexander Creek, and The Talachulitna River.
HB 82, a bill to authorize subsurface natural gas drilling and development in Kachemak Bay, which is currently off-limits to oil and gas development.
HB 98 was legislation to decrease citizen participation in the Forest Land Use Plan process for timber sales.

There is a lot to unpack as a legislative session ends. This Memorial Day Weekend, we urge you to take the time to reflect on the positive outcomes of this past session and take heart in the true power of citizen advocacy in our beloved Democracy.\n\n[/cs_content_seo][/cs_element_layout_column][/cs_element_layout_row][/cs_element_section][cs_element_section _id=”5″ ][cs_element_layout_row _id=”6″ ][cs_element_layout_column _id=”7″ ][cs_element_button _id=”8″ ][cs_content_seo]More Bills This Session\n\n[/cs_content_seo][/cs_element_layout_column][/cs_element_layout_row][/cs_element_section][/cs_content]

https://akcenter.org/wp-content/uploads/2022/05/Hot-Takes-Banner-1-1.png 400 1200 Leah Moss https://akcenter.org/wp-content/uploads/2025/02/the-alaska-center-with-tag.svg Leah Moss2022-05-27 21:15:302025-01-02 07:26:33Hot Takes In A Cold Place: The Legislative Session Rides Off

Remembering Forward: The Just Transition Summit Recap

May 26, 2022/in Blog, Leg with Louie, OpEd

This past weekend the Alaska Just Transition Community held the second statewide summit – Nughelnik: Remembering Forward – coming together on Dena’ina Land to reflect on the past two years, heal, look ahead, and center the knowledge and lessons held here for generations. The three days were an invigorating experience, showcasing inspiring work already being led in local Alaskan communities. It was a nonstop sharing of ideas, connection, optimism, and plans for how to build the world we want to see. The summit was juxtaposed with national tragedies, instances of violence that only highlighted the need for the event’s message and movement of a Just Transition to be held at a national and global level.

The Alaska Center team was grateful to join partners Native Movement, Fairbanks Climate Action Coalition, Native Peoples Action, Alaska Community Action on Toxics, Alaska Public Interest Research Group, Alaska Poor People’s Campaign in supporting and co-hosting this year’s summit, joined by so many other incredible individuals and groups.

This summit illustrated the importance of direct action, community care, and the intersectional approach we must use to solve our communities’ collective problems.

Vivian Mork shared a powerful message on healing, a message that resonates through this week-that “destination healing” is a myth. It’s a process, an approach, a practice, and yet not something to be done alone: “Indigenous healing is not just being responsible for my own healing, but going back and healing with the community.”

We drew lessons from the stories and perspectives of speakers within the labor movement. Particularly those who spoke about their personal history of organizing and the labor movement’s long history here in creating and grounding the fight for workers’ rights.

Two panels facilitated by Interior Organizer Alyssa Quintyne on the Relationship of Reciprocity, and Black Leadership in Alaska, centered the perspectives of first-generation Americans and immigrant families; and what a Just Transition looks like within the Black community in Alaska.

Alaska Youth for Environmental Action (AYEA) staff Shanelle Afcan and Marlowe Scully, guided a youth contingent through their Summit experience. AYEA alum Lauryn spoke on a panel reflection for day 2, garnering an incredibly enthusiastic response on her call for Alaskan youth–the leaders of tomorrow–to get involved today.

We must also remember that our approach matters as we work towards a more thriving, just, and sustainable Alaska for future generations.

“If all we do is fight against what we don’t want, we will learn to love the fight… We must actually organize ourselves in a different way; not to simply make demands of existing structures of power, not to simply decry what we don’t like, but to actually, together, in community, organize ourselves to directly meet our needs.”
Gopal Dayaneni, Alaska Just Transition Keynote, May 21

We’ll leave you with this intriguing question from Dayaneni’s keynote, “What if we’re winning, and we don’t know it?” As we shift back into our day-to-day routines, let’s carry that optimism with us and let it fortify our collective efforts to shape the Alaska and the world we envision.

https://akcenter.org/wp-content/uploads/2022/05/Summit-Header-FOR-DOCUMENTS-1.png 1176 4000 Leah Moss https://akcenter.org/wp-content/uploads/2025/02/the-alaska-center-with-tag.svg Leah Moss2022-05-26 23:53:382025-01-06 05:25:28Remembering Forward: The Just Transition Summit Recap

Entering the Rapids

May 13, 2022/in Blog, Leg with Louie, Legislative Session

[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 32nd Alaska State Legislature is careening toward its grand finale, which will likely be on or around May 18th, the constitutional 120-day limit to session. On or around May 18th, the House and Senate will reconcile their versions of the operating and capital budget, pass any remaining bills, and drop the gavel, ending the second regular session Sine-Die.
The high price of oil, healthy returns on Permanent Fund investments, and the federal infrastructure spending package have lawmakers swooning, many of them revved up to spend vast amounts on the Governor’s holy grail: The ultimate, humongous, gigantic, supersized, great, grand, king-daddy, monumental, amazing and astonishing full statutory Permanent Fund Dividend ($4,200 per Alaskan) in addition to a payment to offset high fuel prices ($1,300) for a total of $5,500. It is a lot of money, it is a great campaign gambit, it is universal basic income wrapped up in a different package, it follows the statute, and it will plunge the state into a deficit. Most notably, it will come at the direct expense of education and other state services. As the final days of the session churn forward, expect this direct cash payment to take up most of the air in the room.
That is not to say that other hugely important issues are chopped liver. Legislation continues to move through committees, and the pace will increase rapidly should the House and Senate fail to agree on the budget and appoint a conference committee to work through the differences. Once a conference committee is announced, the schedule goes from a 7-day notice requirement to a 24-hour notice requirement for committee hearings, so bills can move quickly.
HB 123 to establish a policy for State recognition of Alaska Tribes has finally moved from the Senate State Affairs Committee and was passed quickly by the full Senate. HB 120, legislation by the Governor to increase the sale of state land for commercial purposes (circumventing state land management plans), advanced from House Resources and awaits a hearing in House Finance. HB 98, another Governor’s bill to weaken public engagement in the timber harvest process, sits in the House Finance Committee, and its companion bill – SB 85 – is in Senate Finance. These bills could move quickly to passage if the votes are there. Alaska’s railbelt utilities whittled down legislation to create a Renewable Portfolio Standard to something they are calling a “Clean Energy Standard Bill.” It aims to get utilities off coal, natural gas, and diesel generation. HB 301, in its current form, allows Nuclear and fossil fuel waste heat recovery as means to achieve benchmark goals. This bill is in House Finance and likely will not pass this session, but you never know. The Senate wisely removed a budget increment authorizing the State of Alaska to take over development permitting in wetlands from the federal government.
In a stinging vote, the House voted 23-17 to strip language from SB 174 that would have protected natural hairstyles from employer discrimination. The intent of SB 174 is to prohibit a school governing body or an employer from prohibiting a student or an employee from wearing a hairstyle historically associated with race. Natural hairstyle is defined to include braids, locks, twists, and tight coils. The language prohibiting workplace discrimination was struck while the prohibition on school discrimination passed. This bill was sent to the Governor.
Many other bills remain in play. At this point, aligning votes for or against the budget is priority #1 of House and Senate Leadership and the Governor. If a bill suddenly lurches out of committee, you can bet that they struck a deal on a budget vote. The end of the session can be like the swiftening of a river as it enters a turbulent gorge. We all must remain vigilant. Obstacles approach fast.
We are ready, buoyant and alert,
The Alaska Center

\n\n[/cs_content_seo][/cs_element_layout_column][/cs_element_layout_row][/cs_element_section][cs_element_section _id=”5″ ][cs_element_layout_row _id=”6″ ][cs_element_layout_column _id=”7″ ][cs_element_button _id=”8″ ][cs_content_seo]More Bills This Session\n\n[/cs_content_seo][/cs_element_layout_column][/cs_element_layout_row][/cs_element_section][/cs_content]

https://akcenter.org/wp-content/uploads/2022/05/Hot-Takes-Banner-1.png 400 1200 Leah Moss https://akcenter.org/wp-content/uploads/2025/02/the-alaska-center-with-tag.svg Leah Moss2022-05-13 23:40:482022-05-13 23:40:48Entering the Rapids

Just Transition is growing the future of sustainable practices

May 9, 2022/in News

Folks may have heard about Just Transition in the news, but what is it exactly? In short, Just Transition is a movement to shift from our current extractive and violent systems and economies, to more regenerative and restorative ones, across the board. Shifting away from sole dependence and subsidies on oil, gas and coal, to investing in community and commercial solar, wind, hydrothermal. From corporation crop and land ownership, to localized agricultural ownership and food allocation. Walkable cities, consistent and stable funding to education, affordable health care, and other public services. The good news, these transitions to other industries, work forces, energy and food sources are already here.

Farmer’s markets and locally-owned grocery stores like Southside Market, Calypso Farm and Roaming Root are thriving and providing a respite from food deserts in our communities. Community energy initiatives like Alaska Native Renewable Industries’ solar workforce training with Tanana Chiefs push this work forward. And our communities are redefining what works best for their members in crisis with programs like the Crisis Response Center. These are real, tangible and localized solutions led by our neighbors, building toward a healthier, restorative and sustainable Fairbanks.

However, we must guarantee that justice, equity and intersectionality are at the core of this transition. For any Just Transition to happen, it must center and amplify the very people our current system marginalizes: Black, Brown and Indigenous communities, queer people, disabled people, poor people, first-generation Americans and immigrant families. Otherwise, we foster the same obstacles we already face, and our solutions fall short.

We already see the consequences of not working with and for the communities when building toward this Just Transition. The Borough Assembly pushed the transition to Natural Gas, and we quickly saw that transition move. However, homeowners were not adequately consulted beforehand to see if that transition was even affordable and if the implementation would work with contractor season in the first place. Homeowners have to figure out if they need to switch out and potentially pay for new boilers or wood stoves, wait and pay an inspector to see if a line can even be installed, then wait to be connected. That takes time, research and money that homeowners already don’t have. GVEA was jazzed about the new electric car charging station installed right in Fairbanks. But when their member-owners are already struggling to pay their electric bill because of the price of energy sources, who’s got money for an electric car, let alone to charge it? For communities marginalized and experiencing discrimination through homeownership and a lack both of quality housing and affordable means for utilities and transportation, those solutions become salt in the wound from a system that isn’t working.

Both of those solutions have the necessary intentions. We need clean, affordable energy to heat our homes. Natural gas lines aren’t the direct solution. We need more reliable and cleaner transportation. Electric cars aren’t either. Neither solves the actual root of the problem — dependence on oil, gas and coal, poor city planning and zoning, and prioritizing car ownership instead of quality public transit. When you expect engagement rather than directly consulting with the communities facing the brunt of those issues, your solutions will always fall short.

Communities marginalized have already been transitioning for decades; we’ve had to since these systems were not made for us in the first place. When you live in the throes of oppressive systems, you find creative ways to navigate. Our communities take care of each other. We feed each other, invest financially and spiritually, and work and create with each other. We are creating firms and businesses and collectives and projects an initiative together that addresses the issues and crises we are experiencing. Villages are in an energy crisis; Edwin Bifelt said, “alright, bet.” Communities needed better access to locally-grown foods, Calypso said, “alright, bet.” Black residents were tired of not having a place to buy quality products for our health. Epic Hair & Beauty said “Babe, I gotchu.” It takes that kind of energy to make these transitions just, which is exactly why we need to lead them. People suffering will have the very solutions to address it directly. We need the room, decision-making authority, the investment, and the collaboration to make this. Nothing for us can truly be done without us.
Alyssa Quintyne is a Fairbanks resident and a community organizer with The Alaska Center.

By Alyssa Quintyne
Originally posted by Fairbanks Daily News-Miner
May 7, 2022

https://akcenter.org/wp-content/uploads/2022/05/Summit-Header-FOR-DOCUMENTS.png 1176 4000 Leah Moss https://akcenter.org/wp-content/uploads/2025/02/the-alaska-center-with-tag.svg Leah Moss2022-05-09 19:28:072025-01-06 05:09:00Just Transition is growing the future of sustainable practices

Solar power heats up in Alaska

April 29, 2022/in News

[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]Households and businesses in Alaska are increasingly producing their own solar power and selling the excess electricity to utilities.
The four major Railbelt utilities from Homer to Fairbanks reported in February that almost 2,000 solar installations are tied into their systems, primarily for small, residential projects.
The numbers have grown rapidly in recent years. That includes in Anchorage, where growth is outpacing several Lower 48 cities, a new study shows.
Solar panel installers, meanwhile, report strong demand for their services. They say homeowners are increasingly signing up after hearing positive reviews from neighbors with their own rooftop arrays.
“In general, solar has been very popular for residential customers who want to reduce their energy bills,” said Chris Pike, with Alaska Center for Energy and Power within the University of Alaska Fairbanks.
Pike installed 12 panels on his roof in Anchorage’s College Village neighborhood a few years ago, something he doesn’t recommend unless people have construction experience like he does.
He cut his annual power bills by more than half, even with trees blocking sunlight.
“It’s what I hoped for and expected,” Pike said. “Depending on your use, you don’t need giant systems to impact your bill.”

Chris Pike, photographed at his home in the Rogers Park neighborhood of Anchorage. (Loren Holmes / ADN)

A research engineer at the Alaska Center for Energy and Power, Pike tracks the number of homes and businesses that produce their own power and sell the excess energy to utilities, under a system called net-metering. The vast majority of those projects are solar panel installations atop homes, cranking out electricity during long summer days.
In the Chugach Electric Association service area that includes Anchorage, close to 600 residential customers had solar installations last year, along with 60 commercial customers, the utility reported in February. Eighty-five new residential projects were added to the system last year alone.
Chugach Electric, the largest electric utility in Alaska, has 92,000 members. So the solar installations are a small part of the utility’s power picture, said Julie Hasquet, a spokeswoman with the utility.
But the utility has taken steps to support more of those solar installations. In February, Chugach Electric requested and received approval from state regulators to expand its ability to allow more solar and other renewable projects through net-metering.
“Increased use of renewable energy is a goal for Chugach and for many Alaskans,” Hasquet said in an emailed statement.
Though the number of Anchorage installations remains small, they have increased rapidly compared to many other U.S. cities, said Dyani Chapman with Alaska Environment Research and Policy Center, a group that advocates for renewable energy and other issues.
Anchorage recently rose to 55th place nationally for installed solar capacity, after ranking at the bottom of 65 major cities in 2015, Chapman said, according to a study from the organization and Frontier Group, a California-based think tank focused on climate and other issues.
“There’s room to grow, but we’re growing faster than a lot of cities, as well,” she said.

‘Business has grown exponentially’

Solar panels sit on Chris Pike’s roof in the Rogers Park neighborhood of Anchorage. (Loren Holmes / ADN)

Falling prices for panels over the last several years is helping stoke interest, even with a slight uptick last year as the COVID-19 pandemic and inflation affected many products, said Ben May, owner of Alaska Solar, an installation company.
But other factors have also offset costs, he said. Programs like Solarize Anchorage, a project involving the Alaska Center and the Alaska Center for Energy and Power where Pike works, have facilitated group installations by multiple households. That allows for better prices.
“We buy them by the container-load now, 900 panels at a time, in the 40-foot containers,” May said.
When May started Alaska Solar six years ago, he’d order a few pallets of solar panels at a time. But the business has grown to 12 employees from one, and he’s doing about 120 installations annually, he said.
“Business has grown exponentially,” he said.
Customers are opting for larger installations than they did a couple of years ago, he said. They’re less skeptical of the technology as solar arrays become more visible around town.
The panels generate lots of energy in summer, making up for the dark winters, he said. Output is strong even in spring, thanks to sun-reflecting snow and electronics that work better in cold, he said.
Also, Alaska’s relatively high power prices have encouraged many people to adopt solar power, he said.
“We may not get perfect sunshine like Arizona, but the electricity we make is worth a lot more,” he said.
On a sunny Wednesday afternoon in downtown Anchorage, two Alaska Solar employees working on a scaffolding platform ratcheted down the final panel on a tall garage roof.
The homeowner there will produce about 50% of his own power annually, May said.
Pike said upfront costs for the rooftop installations can be significant for many homeowners, often exceeding $10,000. But the projects typically pay for themselves in about 10 years, he said. The panels can last 30 years or longer.

Alaska Solar employees Zack Wright, left, and Kevin Blackwell install a solar panel at a residence in South Addition on April 20 in Anchorage. (Loren Holmes / ADN)

Outside the Anchorage area, the major Railbelt utilities report more than 1,300 customers with solar installations. More than 300 of those are within the Matanuska Electric Association service area that includes Palmer and Wasilla, said Julie Estey, a spokeswoman for that utility.
The utility supports more solar installations and knows many of its members value renewable energy for its environmental benefits. The utility has seen “tremendous” annual growth in that area, she said. The pace could continue for perhaps a decade before it becomes a potential issue.
“We can only accept so much variable power on the system before it begins to cost more,” she said. “But we definitely view (the installations) as part of our energy future, and managing it and understanding it better is something we’re working on.”

High electric prices drive demand
Mark Haller, a solar panel installer in Soldotna, launched Midnight Sun Solar in Anchorage a few years ago. But demand was so high on the Kenai Peninsula that he moved his operation and family there.
Homer Electric Association, serving much of the Kenai Peninsula, has relatively high electric prices, Haller said. That’s driving more people to solar power, he said.
“It’s been really fruitful,” he said. “We’re doing about 80 installations a year.”
Most of his customers are homeowners.
“There’s a lot of folks down here that are resiliency minded, too, and they want to do things on their own as much as they can,” he said.
Federal tax credits cut 26% off the cost, which is another motivator, he and May said. The benefits fall to 22% next year, ending in 2024.
Hans Vogel said he’s getting solar panels installed at his two manufacturing businesses in Palmer. He already has a solar installation at his home in Eagle River.
Vogel’s businesses, Triverus and Trijet, are high-tech operations with fairly high demand for energy, he said. With tax incentives, he expects the installations will pay for themselves in five years, maybe less, he said.
The panels will also add value to the buildings if he ever has to sell them, he said. And low energy prices will make the companies more sustainable, he said.
“It’s just a total business case for us,” he said. “We’re committed to being here and consuming energy at this business for a while. So why not take advantage of this power from that big shiny thing in the sky?”
By Alex DeMarban
Originally posted by Anchorage Daily News
April 29, 2022\n\n[/cs_content_seo][/cs_element_layout_column][/cs_element_layout_row][/cs_element_section][/cs_content]

https://akcenter.org/wp-content/uploads/2022/04/Hot-Takes-in-a-Cold-Place-1.png 630 1200 Leah Moss https://akcenter.org/wp-content/uploads/2025/02/the-alaska-center-with-tag.svg Leah Moss2022-04-29 20:23:332022-04-29 20:23:33Solar power heats up in Alaska

Earth Day and the Electric Cooperative

April 22, 2022/in Blog, Climate, Leg with Louie, Legislative Session

Tomorrow is Earth Day, a day to reflect on and celebrate our home and our future. Now more than ever, we need to support policies designed to protect our planet and the systems that enable life, including the climate system.

The headlines are full of dire warnings about climate change, and it can feel like an insurmountable problem and that we are well behind the eight ball. Yet, as we face steep challenges, we must also realize that there is hope:

The children and teens of today are perhaps the most engaged and galvanized generation the world has ever seen on the need for climate justice.

The conservation movement is beginning to recognize the value of Indigenous knowledge and work to decolonize their practices while amplifying Indigenous leadership.

The Biden Administration is the most climate-oriented administration we have ever elected, and with enough pressure, we could see him make some dramatic and effective climate commitments.

More and more, the economic argument for renewable energy is now almost irrefutable.

The movement that started Earth Day resounds in all of those who are taking action to protect our climate and our planet: The Alaska Youth for Environmental Action leading climate strikes, the youth plaintiffs in the Sagoonik v. State of Alaska youth climate action lawsuit, advocates for climate policy action at the state and federal level, even those who serve on our electric utility boards and those who advocate with our utility boards to increase the share of renewable energy that utilities produce or purchase. There is hope, and there is action, and both are going to help us as we confront the challenges of climate change head-on.

That is why tomorrow, on Earth Day, The Alaska Center is hosting a Climate, Care, and Community event to highlight the importance of getting involved with your local electric utility entitled “You are your utility.”

Do you pay an electric bill to Matanuska Electric Association, Golden Valley Electric Association, Chugach Electric Association, or Homer Electric Association? If so, that makes you a member-owner of your electric utility! Want to know more about your rights as a member-owner and ways to get involved with local energy democracy? Join us TOMORROW, April 22, at noon to hear from member-owners across the railbelt who stepped up to create change in their utilities!

JOIN THE ZOOM SESSION

More people getting involved with their electric utility leads to a greater diversity of thought and increased transparency and accountability for our electricity providers. We will be relying on these cooperatives increasingly to unlock carbon emission reductions in the transportation and industrial sectors of our economy, so ultimately, our electric cooperatives will have a significant role in decreasing carbon emissions.

It may not be the sexiest way to celebrate Earth Day. Still, we believe that even actions like increased participation in utilities can lead to significant changes in our ongoing fight to protect our beautiful planet.

See you tomorrow,
The Alaska Center

https://akcenter.org/wp-content/uploads/2022/04/earthday.png 400 1200 Leah Moss https://akcenter.org/wp-content/uploads/2025/02/the-alaska-center-with-tag.svg Leah Moss2022-04-22 00:55:112025-01-06 05:15:49Earth Day and the Electric Cooperative

An Agency Boondoggle

April 16, 2022/in Blog, Leg with Louie, Legislative Session, Salmon

Tucked into the operating budget passed by the State House is an appropriation that would authorize the Alaska Department of Environmental Conservation to take over the federal wetlands permitting program under Section 404 of the Clean Water Act.

There would be a significant cost to the state of assuming the program, and this is not a one-year program; this is a forever program. The Department of Environmental Conservation (DEC) has requested a nearly five-million-dollar appropriation to staff 28 employees. It is not clear how DEC came up with this estimate. As of many years ago, the Corps’ regulatory program in Alaska had 49 full-time positions and an annual budget of $7.9 million.

We know that the assumption of the permitting program will likely also require additional staff from other resources agencies, the Department of Law, and additional third-party contractors. In Florida (one of only three states nationwide that has assumed responsibility for wetland permitting functions), they underestimated the staff they would need to run the program and recently requested an additional 17 positions to administer its program. States administering the Section 404 permit program receive no federal funds specifically dedicated to supporting the operation of the permit program.

The legislature investigated taking over primacy in 2013 and subsequently abandoned the effort when the state ran into lean fiscal times. As DEC testified to the House Resources Committee in 2013, a primary purpose of the bill authorizing 404 assumptions was to determine the full costs of primacy. DEC testified this year that it has no additional information about the program’s costs. DEC also made clear in 2013 that “the unknowns about this effort are significant. Until the state performs the detailed evaluation of assumption of the program as provided for in SB 27, it is impossible to forecast the cost or size of a State program.” There is no indication that the state has actually done any further due diligence since 2013, making this current budget rather reckless.

We know this much: Tribes would lose the right to consultation that occurs with federal permits, and state policies regarding consultation do not ensure the same rights. Notably, DEC and other state agencies have declined requests for consultation with Alaska tribes. Tribes will have a harder time making their voices heard. Plus, the state’s assumption of the program would eliminate the protections of the National Historic Preservation Act. Mitigation measures to protect cultural and historic resources will be more challenging.

Should the State of Alaska assume the 404 permitting program, it is unclear how consultation with FWS and NMFS would work for threatened or endangered species. In Florida, which adopted the 404 permitting process most recently, no ESA consultations occur at the permit level. Permits may therefore bring more significant harm to endangered and threatened species. No environmental impact statement would be required for a state-issued 404 permit. The public would lose the opportunity to participate in the NEPA process.
Budget items can be sneaky and difficult to track. The Senate is still working on its version of the operating budget, and the House and Senate will ultimately reconcile their versions in a conference committee. Now is an excellent time to weigh in with your Senator. Let them know that this budget item will create unnecessary bureaucracy at the expense of our state government. Wetland permitting in Alaska is already being done by the federal government at no cost to the state government. Tell them to remove the $5 million budgeted to start a program that is not necessary.

The Alaska Center

https://akcenter.org/wp-content/uploads/2022/04/AnAgencyBoondoggle-Banner.png 400 1200 Leah Moss https://akcenter.org/wp-content/uploads/2025/02/the-alaska-center-with-tag.svg Leah Moss2022-04-16 00:24:362025-01-06 05:26:11An Agency Boondoggle

A Problem of PFAS

April 9, 2022/in Accountability, Blog, Leg with Louie, Legislative Session

[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]Like much of the nation, and the world, Alaska faces the problem of Perfluoroalkyl and Polyfluoroalkyl Substances, commonly known as PFAS.
PFAS are used to make products stain, grease, and water-resistant; including food packaging, carpet, upholstery, outdoor apparel, and cookware, for stick resistance. They are used in firefighting foam, industrial processes, and specialty products like ski wax. PFAS can easily transfer from their origin, resulting in contamination of our food, air, and water.
Water supplies adjacent to military bases and airports are often contaminated with PFAS from firefighting foams for Class B petroleum and chemical fires. In Alaska, the dispersive use of AFFF (aqueous film-forming foam) containing PFAS on military bases and airports has contaminated the drinking water of many Alaskans. At least 10 communities throughout Alaska have levels of PFAS in their drinking water that are deemed unsafe by the EPA. The use of PFAS also harms the health of firefighters, studies show that firefighters have a higher burden of cancers and other diseases associated with toxic exposures. There are safe alternatives that are effective, without the harmful impacts to the health of firefighters and communities.
State and Federal governments are increasingly asked to come up with a plan to deal with this hidden pollutant. Exposure to PFAS has been associated with adverse health outcomes: including cancers (such as kidney and testicular cancers), liver damage, increased risk of thyroid disease, harm to the immune system, decreased antibody response to vaccines, increased risk of asthma, decreased fertility, decreased birth weight, pregnancy-induced hypertension/pre-eclampsia, and increased cholesterol. Congress recently allocated $10 billion to start working on the problem nationwide and you can be sure this is just the tip of the iceberg as far as tax dollars are concerned. (In a just and reasonable world, those manufacturing companies that made money selling products containing PFAS would pay to clean it up.)
Bills dealing with PFAS in Alaska are working their way through the Legislature this year. Senator Jesse Kiehl’s SB 121 will be heard in the Senate Finance committee on Tuesday, April 12 at 9:00 a.m. According to the sponsor statement, Senate Bill 121 sets health-protective limits on the amount of PFAS in drinking water. The bill guarantees Alaskans in areas with known PFAS contamination will get clean drinking water and their blood levels checked. To prevent future pollution, SB 121 bans PFAS foams when the Federal Aviation Administration stops forcing airports to use them (unless some other federal law preempts).
PFAS, now incredibly prevalent, are called “forever chemicals” because they persist for thousands of years, and do not break down in the human body. Dealing with them will be a long process, but not a forever process. It will require curtailing and eliminating PFAS production and the sale of products in which they are used. It will require science and government working in tandem, community action, and educated consumers. We can do it. SB 121 is a great start.
 Plan to testify in support of SB 121 on Tuesday.
The Alaska Center\n\n[/cs_content_seo][/cs_element_layout_column][/cs_element_layout_row][/cs_element_section][cs_element_section _id=”5″ ][cs_element_layout_row _id=”6″ ][cs_element_layout_column _id=”7″ ][cs_element_button _id=”8″ ][cs_content_seo]Bills to Watch This Week\n\n[/cs_content_seo][/cs_element_layout_column][cs_element_layout_column _id=”9″ ][cs_element_button _id=”10″ ][cs_content_seo]More Bills This Session\n\n[/cs_content_seo][/cs_element_layout_column][/cs_element_layout_row][/cs_element_section][/cs_content]

https://akcenter.org/wp-content/uploads/2022/04/Hot-Takes-Banner.png 400 1200 Leah Moss https://akcenter.org/wp-content/uploads/2025/02/the-alaska-center-with-tag.svg Leah Moss2022-04-09 00:11:092022-04-09 00:11:09A Problem of PFAS
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