Critical pathways to renewable energy transitions in remote Alaska communities: A comparative analysis

Holdmann, Gwen; Pride, Dominique; Poelzer, Greg; Noble, Bram; Walker, Colin

doi:10.1016/j.erss.2022.102712

Cited by 24 publications

(13 citation statements)

References 61 publications

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“…Irrespective of what motivates a particular community-based energy project, the factors behind its successful implementation and continued operation can provide important lessons and transferable learning opportunities. Such opportunities are important as notwithstanding the growth in community energy initiatives, there is still only limited sharing of the lessons learned from community energy frontrunners with on-the-ground experience [73][74][75]. As a result, there is limited opportunity for remote communities to learn from the successes of other communities and facilitate more efficient and effective community energy project design, implementation, and operation.…”

Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Harvesting Local Energy: A Case Study of Community-Led Bioenergy Development in Galena, Alaska

et al. 2022

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Community-led bioenergy projects show great promise to address a range of issues for remote and Indigenous Arctic communities that typically rely on diesel for meeting their energy demands. However, there is very little research devoted to better understanding what makes individual projects successful. In this study, we analyze the case of the Galena Bioenergy Project (Alaska)—a biomass heating project that uses locally sourced woody biomass to help meet the heating demands of a large educational campus. Using project documents and other publicly available reports, we evaluate the project’s success using three indicators: operational, environmental, and community level socio-economic benefits. We find that the project shows signs of success in all three respects. It has a reliable fuel supply chain for operations, makes contributions towards greenhouse gas reductions by replacing diesel and has improved energy and economic security for the community. We also examine enabling factors behind the project’s success and identify the following factors as crucial: community-level input and support, state level financial support, access to forest biomass with no competing use, predictable demand and committed leadership. Our findings have important implications for other remote communities across the Boreal zone—especially those with nearby forest resources. Our examination of this case study ultimately highlights potential pathways for long-term success and, more specifically, shows how biomass resources might be best utilized through community-led initiatives to sustainably support energy security in Arctic communities.

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Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Harvesting Local Energy: A Case Study of Community-Led Bioenergy Development in Galena, Alaska

et al. 2022

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“…Many remote communities in the northern regions of the US state of Alaska lack connection to national electricity grids, resulting in their heavy reliance on costly imported fuels for power generation. Yet several specific locations within Alaska have taken a pioneering role in the development of community renewable energy supplies . Energy systems encompass not just technology and infrastructure, but also the communities involved in generating, using, and benefiting from energy.…”

Section: Resource Extraction and The Green Transition In The Arcticmentioning

confidence: 99%

Perspective: Dimensions of Environment and Health in Arctic Communities

Lohmann,

Beatty,

Graybill

et al. 2023

Environ. Health

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In the Arctic, environment and health are linked in myriad ways. A key emphasis has been on numerous long-lived contaminants in traditional foods, particularly marine mammals, and their well-documented impacts on human, animal and environmental health ("One health approach"). More recent concerns for Indigenous communities focus on the (side) effects of the switch to a modern, processed diet, which is accompanied by a loss of tradition and emerging health impacts. Furthermore, the availability of traditional foods is increasingly threatened by the impacts of climate change, which also causes the emergence and spread of new and old diseases, such as anthrax. Climate change, including thawing permafrost and new forest fire regimes, threatens the built environment and infrastructure. In particular, well-built, planned, and healthy housing is urgently needed, given that much time is spent indoors. Health care, particularly for remote and Indigenous communities, is sparse, and often ignores traditional knowledge and local languages. Indigenous communities in the Arctic continue to suffer from marginalization, resource colonization/extraction, and the impacts of racism. Recent examples of the green energy transition, such as in Norway, continue a pattern of ignoring Indigenous rights and lifestyles. Overall, the connection between environment and health in the Arctic is multifaceted and complex, and investigations and solutions ought to embrace an interdisciplinary and holistic approach toward improving Environmental and Human Health in the region.

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“…Informed by these interviews, we then interviewed "case study" communities that have successfully deployed renewable energy, compiling the development process and lessons learned. Holdmann et al (2022) found that communities with successful renewable energy projects shared the following characteristics:…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Distributed Renewables for Arctic Energy: A Case Study

Anderson

Jordan

Baring-Gould

2023

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Alaska is a vast state that stretches into the Arctic Circle. Roughly 140,000 people in the state depend on isolated electric grids, traditionally burning expensive fossil fuels. These fuel sources have negative impacts on air quality and climate. As the climate warms, fuel supply chains and traditional ways of life are threatened. Renewable energy systems offer a clean, resilient alternative with less volatile costs to remote Arctic communities, but developing them raises a variety of technical, social, economic, and political challenges. Examples include harsh operating conditions, lack of local technical and managerial capacity, complex funding mechanisms, and lengthy permitting processes.With many isolated energy systems incorporating a variety of renewable technologies, Alaskan communities provide valuable lessons that can be applied across the Arctic. In this case study, we interviewed communities that are interested in adding renewables to their energy systems to understand their needs and challenges. We also interviewed communities that have successfully installed renewable energy to understand how they overcame such challenges and the lessons they learned. Notable results include the importance of local buy-in, education, and technical involvement; procuring external funding sources; intercommunity collaboration; installing bespoke systems; working with reliable equipment suppliers; and having a local "project champion". The goal of this report is to orient and inspire Arctic communities that want to begin their renewable energy transition, by providing helpful examples and points of contact. vi This report is available at no cost from the National Renewable Energy Laboratory (NREL) at www.nrel.gov/publications.

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Critical pathways to renewable energy transitions in remote Alaska communities: A comparative analysis

Cited by 24 publications

References 61 publications

Harvesting Local Energy: A Case Study of Community-Led Bioenergy Development in Galena, Alaska

Harvesting Local Energy: A Case Study of Community-Led Bioenergy Development in Galena, Alaska

Perspective: Dimensions of Environment and Health in Arctic Communities

Distributed Renewables for Arctic Energy: A Case Study

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