Legislature(2023 - 2024)BARNES 124
03/23/2023 10:15 AM House ENERGY
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| Audio | Topic |
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| Start | |
| Presentation: Alaska Center for Energy and Power | |
| Adjourn |
* first hearing in first committee of referral
+ teleconferenced
= bill was previously heard/scheduled
+ teleconferenced
= bill was previously heard/scheduled
| + | TELECONFERENCED | ||
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ALASKA STATE LEGISLATURE
HOUSE SPECIAL COMMITTEE ON ENERGY
March 23, 2023
10:33 a.m.
MEMBERS PRESENT
Representative George Rauscher, Chair
Representative Tom McKay
Representative Stanley Wright
Representative Mike Prax
Representative Ashley Carrick
MEMBERS ABSENT
Representative Josiah Patkotak
Representative Calvin Schrage
COMMITTEE CALENDAR
PRESENTATION: ALASKA CENTER FOR ENERGY AND POWER
- HEARD
PREVIOUS COMMITTEE ACTION
No previous action to record
WITNESS REGISTER
GWEN HOLDMANN, Vice Chancellor
Research, Innovation, and Industry Partnerships
Alaska Center for Energy and Power
Fairbanks, Alaska
POSITION STATEMENT: Gave a PowerPoint presentation, titled
"Alaska Center for Energy and Power."
ACTION NARRATIVE
10:33:42 AM
CHAIR GEORGE RAUSCHER called the House Special Committee on
Energy meeting to order at 10:33 a.m. Representatives Carrick,
McKay, Wright, Prax, and Rauscher were present at the call to
order.
^PRESENTATION: ALASKA CENTER FOR ENERGY AND POWER
PRESENTATION: ALASKA CENTER FOR ENERGY AND POWER
10:34:56 AM
CHAIR RAUSCHER announced that the only order of business would
be a presentation titled: "Alaska Center for Energy and Power."
10:35:27 AM
GWEN HOLDMANN, Vice Chancellor, Research, Innovation, and
Industry Partnerships, Alaska Center for Energy and Power, gave
a PowerPoint presentation, titled "Alaska Center for Energy and
Power" [hard copy included in the committee packet]. She began
on slide 1 and slide 2, stating that the mission of the Alaska
Center for Energy and Power (ACEP) is "fostering development of
practical, innovative and cost-effective energy solutions for
Alaska and beyond." She said that 80 researchers are affiliated
with the program, and the University of Fairbanks (UAF) has a
lab-based microgrid for testing energy solutions.
10:38:16 AM
MS. HOLDMANN continued to slide 3 through slide 8, giving a
brief overview of ACEP projects and their locations. She said
that the program looks at all forms of energy generation and
energy transmission throughout the state. She stated that
ACEP's philosophy is to place emphasis on the research question,
working to finish research quickly to benefit Alaskans. She
stated that ACEP also works on policy analysis to help improve
energy policy. She expressed the opinion that many projects
worked on by ACEP are beneficial. She pointed out the Alaska
Renewable Energy Grant Fund and that 70 Alaskan communities are
being powered to some degree by renewable energy.
10:42:12 AM
MS. HOLDMAN continued to slide 9 through slide 13, stating that
Alaska is the U.S. leader in microgrid technologies. She showed
a map detailing that much of the Artic is not connected to
outside power grids, including all of Alaska. The area is often
referred to as the "Electric North." She described the Railbelt
utilities as connected microgrids. She noted that these
microgrids were not connected at the onset. She stated that
ACEP has worked with the Railbelt utilities on strategies for a
gradual process of decarbonization. She stated ACEP has
received funding from the Office of Naval Research in
partnership with the University of Hawaii. She added that
research on tidal energy was one of the first areas of study for
ACEP.
10:47:21 AM
CHAIR RAUSCHER asked why there is a single black fin in the
turbine of the tidal energy generator [pictured on the slide].
MS. HOLDMANN answered that it allows for the counting of the
revolutions. She added that the generator has already been
tested. This testing included understanding how this might
affect salmon populations.
10:48:45 AM
REPRESENTATIVE CARRICK asked whether the same technology used
for tidal generation can be used in rivers.
MS. HOLDMANN answered yes, because they both rely on the water
currents for energy generation. She added that work on
optimizing the technology is still ongoing.
10:51:15 AM
MS. HOLDMANN, in response to Representative Prax, stated that
the test device in the river has a mechanism for blocking debris
and catching smolt to see how the device effects them. She
pointed out that there is a platform to mount the device. In
response to a follow-up question, she said that it is not meant
to stay in the river on a long-term basis.
10:54:20 AM
MS. HOLDMANN continued to slide 14 and slide 15, stating that
ACEP and UAF are working on a U.S. Department of Energy project
along with the University of Puerto Rico, University of Hawaii,
and South Dakota State University. The project would be on
"assessing dynamic response of converter-dominated power systems
across multiple spatiotemporal scales." The study would show
the implications of incorporating renewable energy on the
resilience of the grid. She explained that using more renewable
energy has the potential to make the grid act in a different
manner, and smaller grids are more susceptible to these types of
changes. She stated that ACEP is working with the Army Corp of
Engineers to study resiliency at Eielson Air Force Base. She
stated that Eielson has the ability to generate some of its own
power, but normally it is connected to the Golden Valley
Electric Association grid.
10:59:09 AM
MS. HOLDMANN continued to slide 16, stating that Eielson has
been selected to be a test site for a micronuclear reactor. She
added that micronuclear reactors are being tested for their
suitability in commercial applications and are "quite different"
from traditional nuclear reactors.
11:01:22 AM
REPRESENTATIVE CARRICK questioned the size of a micronuclear
reactor for a small community and the reactor's lifespan.
MS. HOLDMANN answered that a small micronuclear reactor would be
20 feet long. She added that micronuclear reactors act as a
thermal battery which would need to be replaced every eight
years. If uninterested, she said, communities would not have to
accept a micronuclear reactor. She added that a community of at
least 1,000 people would be needed for the reactor to make sense
on a level of scale.
11:05:42 AM
REPRESENTATIVE WRIGHT asked if there have been any successful
tests of micronuclear reactors.
MS. HOLDMANN answered that the technology is not new, although
some of the safety features in micronuclear reactors are new.
She offered that no advanced micronuclear reactors have been
built, as of now.
MS. HOLDMANN, in response to Chair Rauscher, stated that
prototypes will be tested at national labs and defense sites
before any other location.
11:08:23 AM
REPRESENTATIVE PRAX commented that the challenge is finding a
situation in which using such a device makes sense.
MS. HOLDMANN responded that engineers can build anything if it
makes sense economically.
11:09:17 AM
MS. HOLDMANN continued to slide 17, giving a brief overview of
the Pilgrim Hot Springs geothermal project in Nome. She said
that ACEP has been working with Nome on this project for
approximately 13 years. She added that ACEP has also been
working on ways to use waste heat from diesel power generation
to provide additional energy. She stated that Pilgrim Hot
Springs has the potential to generate up to 5 megawatts of
electricity.
11:12:43 AM
CHAIR RAUSCHER questioned the distance between solar panels.
MS. HOLDMANN answered that in Artic environments, solar panels
using both sides are more effective, meaning they need more
space to fully capture solar energy. In response to a follow-up
question, she said that spacing of solar panels in Alaskan
communities, such as Willow and Houston, will depend on the
types of solar panels being used.
11:15:06 AM
REPRESENTATIVE PRAX asked what happened to the Chena Hot Springs
trailer that was hooked up to the power plant in Fairbanks.
MS. HOLDMANN answered that without a large amount of hot water,
it was not very effective.
11:17:32 AM
MS. HOLDMANN continued to slide 18 through slide 20, stating
that the Emerging Energy Technology Grant Fund ended in 2018.
It had been used to test and deploy new types of energy
technology. She said that if the program were to be continued,
it would have the potential of bringing new forms of energy
generation and storage to Alaska. She said that Kotzebue is
working towards 100 percent renewable energy, using double-sided
solar panels and excess wind generation for heating in homes.
She showed a blog from Kartorium which highlighted the work
being done in Kotzebue, and the work ACEP is doing around the
state.
11:23:06 AM
MS. HOLDMANN moved to slide 21 and slide 22, stating that ACEP
has been looking at price structures for the different
utilities. Testing is being done in Kotzebue to see whether
pulling heat from the air as a source of energy generation is a
viable way to produce energy. She said that ACEP has set up a
community innovation hub to work with different communities
together on better ways to generate energy at a lower price by
using technological innovations. The two main hubs of these
innovation networks are Kotzebue and Cordova. She said that
ACEP is involving students in the process and has pioneered a
program for students used in 23 different states.
11:26:43 AM
MS. HOLDMANN continued to slide 23 through slide 25, stating
that ACEP is partnering with different Alaskan communities, as
well as Canada and Iceland, to train and develop the Artic
energy workforce. The Arctic Remote Energy Networks Academy
prepares individuals to work on energy solutions in the Artic.
She said that the program focuses on developing microgrids. She
stated that ACEP is also hosting workshops to educate the public
about carbon sequestration technology.
11:29:37 AM
CHAIR RAUSCHER questioned the number of participants for the
workshop registration.
MS. HOLDMANN responded that the number of participants is not
limited, adding that registration is free. She offered that the
workshops are recorded and posted online.
11:31:10 AM
MS. HOLDMANN moved to slide 26, expressing the importance of the
University of Alaska system in developing energy resources. She
said that investing in the energy workforce and innovation of
new technologies is a great benefit to the state.
11:31:38 AM
CHAIR RAUSCHER asked whether there is a funding source that
works better than others.
MS. HOLDMANN answered that the Power Project Loan Fund is an
important fund which allows smaller renewable energy projects to
get started. She added that there are federal sources of
funding available Alaska should aim to receive.
11:34:06 AM
REPRESENTATIVE CARRICK asked why Emerging Energy Technology
Funding was sunset in 2018 and how it differed from the
Renewable Energy Grant Fund.
MS. HOLDMANN answered that the latter is meant for projects
which are expected to succeed to a certain level, whereas the
former is meant as a way to test new technologies which have a
possibility of failing. She added that the Emerging Energy
Technology Fund was sunset because there was a period with less
investment into new forms of renewable technology. In response
to a follow-up question, she stated that the benefit of
investing state money into emerging technologies addresses the
unique challenges faced by Alaska. Federal grants require state
matches, and there may not be grants which go along with every
possible technology in Alaska.
11:40:22 AM
MS. HOLDMANN, in response to Representative Prax, stated that
ACEP does not compete with the private sector. She said that
ACEP's role is to test new technologies. In response to a
follow-up question, she said that ACEP does have a strategic
plan of focus. She added that some of the work done on
micronuclear reactors is not funded by the federal government,
and some unpaid work is required. In response to a follow-up
question, she stated that ACEP does have a written report
containing a strategic plan.
11:46:47 AM
ADJOURNMENT
There being no further business before the committee, the House
Special Committee on Energy meeting was adjourned at 11:46 a.m.
| Document Name | Date/Time | Subjects |
|---|---|---|
| ACEP Overview 3-23-23 House Energy.pdf |
HENE 3/23/2023 10:15:00 AM |
ACEP |