Final Report of Native Village of Venetie Tribal Government Solar Feasibility Study

• Main Author: Whitwell, Lance
• Other Authors: United States. Department of Energy. Office of Energy Efficiency and Renewable Energy.
• Format: Report
• Language: English
• Published: Native Village of Venetie Tribal Government (NVVTG) 2007
• Subjects: Solar Energy; 14 Solar Energy; Feasibility Study; Rivers; Sun Alaska Native Village; Solar; Seasons; Energy Storage; Venetie; Alaska Native Village; Arctic; Brooks Range; Alaska; midnight sun
• Online Access: https://doi.org/10.2172/903281; https://digital.library.unt.edu/ark:/67531/metadc881638/

The villages of Venetie and Arctic, located above the Arctic Circle in northeast Alaska along the Chandalar River and just southeast of the Brooks Range, will study the feasibility of powering the villages using renewable solar energy during the season of the midnight sun. The solar electric (photovoltaic) system will replace diesel generator power for most of the summertime, yielding great economic, environmental, and social benefits. The Native Village of Venetie Tribal Government conducted a feasibility study for powering of an entire village during the season of the midnight sun, using renewable solar energy. The goal was for the renewable system to allow the diesel generators to be turned completely off for most of the summertime, yielding great economic, environmental, and social benefits. The system would operate year round. While there would be no solar energy input during the long night of December and January, during the months that the sun does not shine, the system's energy storage component would continue to provide benefits by saving fuel, due to more steady generator operation and by providing back-up power during generator outages.