Renewable energy development in Alaska: policy implications for the development of renewable energy for remote areas of the circumpolar Arctic
Thesis (M.S.) University of Alaska Fairbanks, 2019 The territories that comprise the Arctic region are part of some of wealthiest and most advanced countries on the planet; yet, rural Alaska, northern Canada, the Russian Far East and Greenland--characterized by off-grid communities, regional grids,...
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ftunivalaska:oai:scholarworks.alaska.edu:11122/11273 2023-05-15T14:53:11+02:00 Renewable energy development in Alaska: policy implications for the development of renewable energy for remote areas of the circumpolar Arctic Holdmann, Gwen Pamela Johnson, Ronald Peterson, Rorik Greenberg, Joshua Sfraga, Mike 2019-12 http://hdl.handle.net/11122/11273 en_US eng http://hdl.handle.net/11122/11273 Department of Mechanical Engineering renewable energy microgrids smart power grids electrification Alaska remote area power supply systems rural public utilities rural electrification Thesis ms 2019 ftunivalaska 2023-02-23T21:37:39Z Thesis (M.S.) University of Alaska Fairbanks, 2019 The territories that comprise the Arctic region are part of some of wealthiest and most advanced countries on the planet; yet, rural Alaska, northern Canada, the Russian Far East and Greenland--characterized by off-grid communities, regional grids, and higher degrees of energy insecurity--have more in common with the developing world than the southern regions of their own country. This thesis explains this paradox of energy development in the Circumpolar North and tackles the issue of developing renewable energy in remote areas where technical and socioeconomic barriers are significant. The primary research questions are two-fold: 1) Why did the Alaska electrical system develop as a non-integrated patchwork of regional and isolated grids? and 2) What are the major factors in Alaska that have resulted in a greater uptake of renewable energy systems for remote communities, compared to other similar places in the Arctic? This thesis demonstrates that state-building theory provides a cogent framework to understand the context of electrical build-out in the Circumpolar North. A major finding of this thesis is that the buildout of electric infrastructure in the non-Nordic countries, including Alaska, exemplifies a process of incomplete nation-building. Interconnected regional grids, where they exist, are largely due to the twin national priorities in infrastructure development in the north: extracting natural resources and enhancing national security. This thesis also draws on sociotechnical transition theory to explain why Alaska exhibits such high levels of energy innovation when compared to other similar regions across the Arctic. This research concludes that drivers such as extremely high energy costs, a highly deregulated utility market with dozens of certificated utilities, state investment in infrastructure, and modest subsidies that create a technological niche where renewable energy projects are cost-competitive at current market prices have spurred energy ... Thesis Arctic Greenland Alaska University of Alaska: ScholarWorks@UA Arctic Canada Fairbanks Greenland |
institution |
Open Polar |
collection |
University of Alaska: ScholarWorks@UA |
op_collection_id |
ftunivalaska |
language |
English |
topic |
renewable energy microgrids smart power grids electrification Alaska remote area power supply systems rural public utilities rural electrification |
spellingShingle |
renewable energy microgrids smart power grids electrification Alaska remote area power supply systems rural public utilities rural electrification Holdmann, Gwen Pamela Renewable energy development in Alaska: policy implications for the development of renewable energy for remote areas of the circumpolar Arctic |
topic_facet |
renewable energy microgrids smart power grids electrification Alaska remote area power supply systems rural public utilities rural electrification |
description |
Thesis (M.S.) University of Alaska Fairbanks, 2019 The territories that comprise the Arctic region are part of some of wealthiest and most advanced countries on the planet; yet, rural Alaska, northern Canada, the Russian Far East and Greenland--characterized by off-grid communities, regional grids, and higher degrees of energy insecurity--have more in common with the developing world than the southern regions of their own country. This thesis explains this paradox of energy development in the Circumpolar North and tackles the issue of developing renewable energy in remote areas where technical and socioeconomic barriers are significant. The primary research questions are two-fold: 1) Why did the Alaska electrical system develop as a non-integrated patchwork of regional and isolated grids? and 2) What are the major factors in Alaska that have resulted in a greater uptake of renewable energy systems for remote communities, compared to other similar places in the Arctic? This thesis demonstrates that state-building theory provides a cogent framework to understand the context of electrical build-out in the Circumpolar North. A major finding of this thesis is that the buildout of electric infrastructure in the non-Nordic countries, including Alaska, exemplifies a process of incomplete nation-building. Interconnected regional grids, where they exist, are largely due to the twin national priorities in infrastructure development in the north: extracting natural resources and enhancing national security. This thesis also draws on sociotechnical transition theory to explain why Alaska exhibits such high levels of energy innovation when compared to other similar regions across the Arctic. This research concludes that drivers such as extremely high energy costs, a highly deregulated utility market with dozens of certificated utilities, state investment in infrastructure, and modest subsidies that create a technological niche where renewable energy projects are cost-competitive at current market prices have spurred energy ... |
author2 |
Johnson, Ronald Peterson, Rorik Greenberg, Joshua Sfraga, Mike |
format |
Thesis |
author |
Holdmann, Gwen Pamela |
author_facet |
Holdmann, Gwen Pamela |
author_sort |
Holdmann, Gwen Pamela |
title |
Renewable energy development in Alaska: policy implications for the development of renewable energy for remote areas of the circumpolar Arctic |
title_short |
Renewable energy development in Alaska: policy implications for the development of renewable energy for remote areas of the circumpolar Arctic |
title_full |
Renewable energy development in Alaska: policy implications for the development of renewable energy for remote areas of the circumpolar Arctic |
title_fullStr |
Renewable energy development in Alaska: policy implications for the development of renewable energy for remote areas of the circumpolar Arctic |
title_full_unstemmed |
Renewable energy development in Alaska: policy implications for the development of renewable energy for remote areas of the circumpolar Arctic |
title_sort |
renewable energy development in alaska: policy implications for the development of renewable energy for remote areas of the circumpolar arctic |
publishDate |
2019 |
url |
http://hdl.handle.net/11122/11273 |
geographic |
Arctic Canada Fairbanks Greenland |
geographic_facet |
Arctic Canada Fairbanks Greenland |
genre |
Arctic Greenland Alaska |
genre_facet |
Arctic Greenland Alaska |
op_relation |
http://hdl.handle.net/11122/11273 Department of Mechanical Engineering |
_version_ |
1766324598058516480 |