Efficiency, renewable energy our best bets

Thursday, May 27th, 2010 @ 2:16 pm | Alaska, Renewables, Articles, Conservation

COMPASS: Other points of view
By CAITLIN HIGGINS (Ghost-written by Russell Stigall)
Published: November 24th, 2009 07:05 PM
Last Modified: November 24th, 2009 07:06 PM
Affordable energy and a healthy environment are the backbone of Alaska’s economy. However, with unpredictable fuel prices and the threat of winter gas shortages, it’s small wonder that Alaskans have consistently ranked energy issues second only to the economy in terms of the most important issue facing their local communities. Alaskans across the state are wondering not only if the energy they need will be available, but if they will be able to afford it.

We need a plan. The energy sources we have relied on for generations are not the energy sources of our future. It’s time to ask where we are going, how we want to get there and what Alaska’s energy future should be. We need a road map like those being written right now by members of the state House and Senate energy and resources committees.

There are many possible energy solutions being put forward in the policy and plan now being drafted. But the best solutions in terms of results are energy efficiency and renewable energy development. Quite simply, investments in these technologies will pay the greatest dividends in the form of reduced costs to consumers and clean, stably-priced energy and jobs for Alaskans.

The quickest and most effective of these clean energy solutions is improving the energy efficiency of our homes, offices and public buildings. Energy efficiency upgrades and weatherization stretch our dollars and our supply of natural gas and diesel fuels. Extending home weatherization programs and pay-as-you-save retrofitting for public buildings are just some of the money-saving options available to us. And energy saved (either by us or by the state) leaves more money to be spent on education, public safety, vacations and groceries.

The clean energy infrastructure we create today with our geothermal, solar, ocean, wind and advanced hydroelectric resources will give our youths well-paying, skilled jobs and a reason to work and live here in Alaska. However, the jobs and prosperity promised by clean technology are not just reserved for the future. From the hydroelectric of Southeast Alaska to Bradley Lake and the winds of the Yukon-Kuskokwim Delta, many Alaskans are already enjoying the benefits of clean, renewable energy today.

Chena Hot Springs Resort, for example, currently powers much of its business through the lowest temperature geothermal project in the world, including a 16-ton absorption chiller that creates temperatures cold enough to maintain an ice museum year-round.

Kodiak Electrical Association installed three wind turbines at Pillar Mountain in 2009. When combined with a previously existing hydro project, it lets island businesses, homes, schools and public buildings on the utility’s grid now at times get 100 percent of their power from renewable energy.

If we as a state pursue this in a timely and vigorous manner, Alaska can be a leader in renewable energy technology as we are now in oil and gas development, and this technology and expertise can be exported to other countries and regions. Through research and development, construction and maintenance, clean energy will create high-tech, clean jobs for Alaskans and keep young minds in the state.

To assure our high quality of life in Alaska now and for our children’s future, we must ask our legislators to work together now to embrace the cleanest and most stably priced of our Alaska-sized energy opportunities.

http://www.adn.com/2009/11/24/1027346/efficiency-renewable-energy-our.html