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Alaska - Sept./Oct. 2008

(National Wildlife Federation)

NWF's Alaska office gathered together interested Anchorage members and activists this summer for a sneak peek at our Balanced Energy Plan for Alaska. The Alaska office's Pat Lavin presented a sophisticated, practical approach to integrating renewables into the Alaska power grid, reducing Alaska's carbon footprint, and keeping attention on the need to address climate change. As both an effort at outreach and at building a local fundraising base the program was a success, with a range of attendants outside the "usual suspects" that attend most Anchorage conservation events.

The plan itself — which is currently under revision due to rising fuel costs and the resulting attractiveness of alternative energy projects — emphasizes opportunities for end-use efficiencies and conservation measures. Also covered were current global warming legislation, clean energy potential, and the economics of Business as Usual vs. the Balanced Energy Plan. Some suggested improvements include moving away from coal in favor of efficiency/conservation, renewables (such as wind, biomass, and tidal), and greater reliance on future supplies of natural gas from the North Slope. Alternatively, if North Slope gas reserves are not delivered, large-scale hydro, biomass gas, gasification, and the previously mentioned efficiency/conservation and renewables are recommended. Many renewables are already a reality in Alaska on small scales.

The results of the Balanced Energy Plan include energy savings ranging from $38-581 million (2015-2040), equivalent reliability, and reduction of CO₂ emissions by roughly 25% for the railbelt as a whole. It is a wheel with many spokes, in terms of funding sources, public awareness, workforce development, commercial and residential building codes and loan programs, smart metering and net metering, tax credits, portfolio standards, and legislation. 

Several attendees, including from a local energy board, stayed after the presentation to talk more with AK staff and brought up sophisticated points during the evening, including the complicated issue of local agriculture and food sourcing as a way to lessen Alaska's carbon footprint and adaptive strategies for wildlife. For more information on this presentation, visit our field office website at http://online.nwf.org/alaska and click on Clean Energy.