Legislature(2023 - 2024)BARNES 124
04/11/2023 10:15 AM House ENERGY
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| Audio | Topic |
|---|---|
| Start | |
| Presentation: Launch Alaska and the Houston Alaska Solar Farm | |
| Adjourn |
* first hearing in first committee of referral
+ teleconferenced
= bill was previously heard/scheduled
+ teleconferenced
= bill was previously heard/scheduled
ALASKA STATE LEGISLATURE
HOUSE SPECIAL COMMITTEE ON ENERGY
April 11, 2023
10:18 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: LAUNCH ALASKA AND THE HOUSTON ALASKA SOLAR FARM
- HEARD
PREVIOUS COMMITTEE ACTION
No previous action to record
WITNESS REGISTER
ISAAC VANDERBERG, CEO
Launch Alaska
Anchorage, Alaska
POSITION STATEMENT: Gave a PowerPoint presentation, titled
"Launch Alaska," which included a discussion of the Houston
Alaska Solar Farm.
JON POWERS, Co-Founder and President
CleanCapital
Buffalo, New York
POSITION STATEMENT: Gave a PowerPoint presentation, titled
"CleanCapital."
ACTION NARRATIVE
10:17:52 AM
CHAIR GEORGE RAUSCHER called the House Special Committee on
Energy meeting to order at 10:18 a.m. Representatives McKay,
Wright, Prax, Carrick, and Rauscher were present at the call to
order.
^PRESENTATION: LAUNCH ALASKA AND THE HOUSTON ALASKA SOLAR FARM
PRESENTATION: LAUNCH ALASKA AND THE HOUSTON ALASKA SOLAR FARM
10:19:18 AM
CHAIR RAUSCHER announced that the only order of business would
be the presentations, titled "Launch Alaska" [and
"CleanCapital"].
10:20:06 AM
ISAAC VANDERBERG, CEO, Launch Alaska, gave a PowerPoint
presentation, titled "Launch Alaska" [hard copy included in the
committee packet]. He began his presentation on slide 2,
introducing Launch Alaska, which is a nonprofit organization
with the mission to "accelerate the energy transition and
decarbonize the globe, starting in Alaska." He stated that
Launch Alaska builds partnerships between climate tech companies
and customers to build Alaska's clean energy economy.
MR. VANDERBERG moved to slide 3 and slide 4, displaying Launch
Alaska's Board of Directors and team. Slide 5 displayed its
organizational partners. He stated that Launch Alaska receives
significant support from the U.S. Office of Naval Research, U.S.
Department of Energy, and McKinley Alaska.
10:24:43 AM
MR. VANDERBERG continued to slide 6, stating that Launch Alaska
seeks to deploy $1 billion worth of renewable energy projects by
2030. He said that the goal was created in 2020. He advised
that currently good progress is being made, as between $55
million to $60 million has already been invested, with an
additional $100 million in projects in the process.
10:26:53 AM
MR. VANDERBERG, in response to a question from Representative
Wright, stated that to meet its goal Launch Alaska has both
portfolio and innovation projects planned. He added that he
would present more details on this later in the presentation.
10:27:56 AM
MR. VANDERBERG continued to slide 7 and slide 8, stating that
the tech deployment track is an eight-month long process, in
which Launch Alaska finds partners for projects and works on a
plan for deployment. He stated that Launch Alaska recruits in
the technology areas of energy, transportation, and industry.
If companies move through the program and sign an agreement for
a project, he said, it is considered a success, and the company
is added to Launch Alaska's portfolio.
10:30:48 AM
MR. VANDERBERG moved to slide 9, showing a chart with examples
of companies which fall under the three categories of energy,
transportation, and industry. He said that currently there are
24 companies in Launch Alaska's portfolio, with an additional 8
to be added soon. The energy companies represent technology
areas such as microgrids, decarbonization, natural gas, wind
power, electric vehicle charging, wastewater treatment, and the
treatment of polyfluoroalkyl substances (PFAS).
10:33:07 AM
MR. VANDERBERG, in response to a question from Chair Rauscher,
stated that Launch Alaska does work with the government on
projects. He provided that the renewable energy projects in
Kotzebue are an example.
10:34:54 AM
MR. VADERBERG continued to slide 10, giving an overview of
Launch Alaska's portfolio. He stated that in 2022, six projects
in eight Alaskan communities were deployed, garnering $320,000
in revenue for the companies involved in the projects. He
stated that through the projects worked on by Launch Alaska,
there has been a reduction of 80,000 metric tons of carbon
emissions.
10:36:41 AM
MR. VANDERBERG, in response to a question from Representative
McKay, stated that carbon was reduced. He added that Launch
Alaska is not currently involved in carbon capture or removal.
10:38:07 AM
REPRESENTATIVE PRAX questioned what the 80,000 number was being
compared to.
MR. VANDERBERG answered that it is the amount of carbon
emissions which have been reduced. In response to a follow-up
question, he said that there is not currently a complete goal of
how much carbon emissions reduction can be done in Alaska.
10:41:39 AM
MR. VANDERBERG, in response to a question from Representative
Wright, stated that Aquagga and ecoSPEARS work with PFAS. He
added that Aquagga has roots in Alaska and has received an award
to test its technology on the Joint Base Elmendorf-Richardson.
10:43:54 AM
MR. VANDERBERG continued to slide 11, stating that in 2020
Launch Alaska recognized many projects being studied were not
actually receiving funding. At this point, he said, Launch
Alaska began work to help get more of these projects running.
He said that those projects include the Shungnak Community
Microgrid, the Port of Alaska microgrid, and support for the
Municipality of Anchorage Solid Waste Services moving to a fleet
of electric vehicles.
MR. VANDERBERG moved to slide 12 and gave a summary of the
Houston Solar Farm. He stated that at 8.5 megawatts, it is
Alaska's largest solar project. He stated that it can provide
power for 1,400 homes, generating electricity at a lower cost
than natural gas. He provided that the project creates up to 40
construction jobs and up to 20 full-time maintenance jobs.
10:51:24 AM
REPRESENTATIVE CARRICK asked what role Launch Alaska has beyond
breaking ground.
MR. VANDERBERG answered that Launch Alaska focuses on getting
projects running and leaving the management to the private
sector.
10:53:42 AM
MR. VANDERBERG, in response to a question from Representative
McKay, stated that IPP means independent power producer. He
added that the organization behind the Houston Solar Farm is an
IPP. In response to a follow-up question, he said that the
organization is a private company created by former oil and gas
engineers. In response to a follow-up question concerning how
PFAS remediation relates to renewable energy transition, he
stated that the current method of PFAS remediation is to ship it
to a facility, bury it in soil, incinerate it, and then bury the
left-over soil. He stated that Aquagga and ecoSPEARS are both
working on more efficient ways to deal with PFAS.
10:58:36 AM
MR. VANDERBERG, concluding the presentation, expressed gratitude
for IPPs.
11:00:20 AM
JON POWERS, Co-Founder and President, CleanCapital, gave a
PowerPoint presentation, titled "CleanCapital" [hard copy
included in the committee packet]. He shared that he had been
deployed in Iraq during Operation Iraqi Freedom, and this is
when he first became interested in energy related issues. He
began on slide 2 and slide 3, stating that, founded in 2015,
CleanCapital has the mission of increasing investment into clean
energy in order to further the transition to renewable sources
of energy. He explained that one of the biggest factors driving
the energy transition is cost, with renewable energy becoming
less expensive to produce.
11:05:42 AM
REPRESENTATIVE PRAX asked whether the price of solar panels
would begin to increase as the demand for the materials used to
make them increases.
MR. POWERS answered that energy storage is currently a bigger
issue, as the price of solar panels is expected to remain the
same. He added that solar panels are increasing in efficiency.
In response to a follow-up question, he said that the solar
panel industry is working to recycle rare earth minerals from
old solar panels, and mining for those materials is expected to
increase.
11:11:51 AM
MR. POWERS continued to slide 4, stating that in 2022 there were
record levels of private investment in the clean energy
transition, with a significant portion of the change being
driven by major corporations. He said that renewable energy
sources are less susceptible to events, such as the Russian
invasion of Ukraine.
11:14:51 AM
CHAIR RAUSCHER asked whether there has been a significant
increase in mining investment to produce the materials needed
for renewable energy projects.
MR. POWERS answered that CleanCapital is not involved in mining,
but the federal government has invested significant amounts of
money into domestic mining.
11:16:35 AM
MR. POWERS continued to slide 5 and slide 6, displaying a chart
showing the increase in solar panel use and installation. In
many places in the U.S., he said, solar has the most efficient
price per kilowatt hour because of policies, such as tax rebates
for up to 20 years, and this provides long-term cash flow for
solar panel projects. He gave a brief explanation of community
solar programs, saying that they are built with future customers
in mind.
11:22:01 AM
REPRESENTATIVE CARRICK asked whether CleanCapital is involved in
Golden Valley Electric Association's community solar program.
MR. POWERS answered no. He added that CleanCapital is involved
in community solar projects in other states. In response to a
follow-up question, he said that CleanCapital does not work on
residential solar projects.
11:25:08 AM
MR. POWERS continued to slide 7 and slide 8, stating that solar
panels are responsible for 40 percent of newly created jobs in
the renewable energy industry. He displayed a chart with the
number of jobs in each sector of energy generation.
11:26:53 AM
CHAIR RAUSCHER asked if the chart included jobs nationwide.
MR. POWERS answered yes. In response to a follow-up question,
he stated that the wages being paid for these jobs depend on the
specific job within the industry.
11:29:45 AM
REPRESENTATIVE CARRICK questioned whether solar jobs have
increased.
MR. POWERS answered that most of the jobs have been created in
the past few years.
11:32:18 AM
REPRESENTATIVE PRAX asked if the chart displaying the number of
jobs is the raw number of jobs in these sectors.
MR. POWERS answered yes. In response to a follow-up question,
he said that the amount of energy being produced is increasing
for solar and decreasing for coal.
REPRESENTATIVE PRAX expressed the opinion that because coal is
still responsible for a greater amount of energy being produced,
the jobs being created in solar energy could be less productive
jobs.
MR. POWERS responded that as the number of solar projects
increases, the difference in the gap of energy being produced by
these sources will decrease.
11:37:00 AM
MR. POWERS moved to slide 9, showing a map with the locations of
projects with CleanCapital involvement. He said that there are
200 projects across 26 different U.S. states and territories.
He stated that policy decisions favoring energy transition are
necessary to increase investment in each jurisdiction.
11:39:28 AM
CHAIR RAUSCHER asked why there is not more investment in Texas,
as it has significant sun and wind levels.
MR. POWERS answered that there is a significant number of solar
and wind farms in Texas. He stated that CleanCapital does not
have as much investment in Texas because of the uniqueness of
its grid and subsequent policy decisions.
11:42:09 AM
MR. POWERS continued to slide 10, stating that CleanCapital is
investing in an 8.5-megawatt solar project which will supply the
MEA [Energy Association]. He stated that when completed the
project will be the largest solar project in the state. He
stated that CleanCapital is working with IPPs to increase
renewable energy in Alaska. One of CleanCapital's goals in
Alaska is to help smaller communities stop relying on diesel
generation.
11:45:40 AM
CHAIR RAUSCHER asked whether CleanCapital owns the land the
projects are being built on.
MR. POWERS answered that there are some cases in which
CleanCapital owns the land, and others in which it leases the
land as part of a long-term lease. In response to a follow-up
question, he said that Launch Alaska invests in the companies
themselves, whereas CleanCapital invests in the clean energy
infrastructure being built.
MR. VANDERBERG added that Launch Alaska was approached by
renewable IPPs for assistance, and the three organizations
worked together on the Houston Solar Farm.
MR. POWERS added that Silicon Valley has a unique environment
for being able to find investors which are not present in many
other places in the U.S., and Launch Alaska works to bring this
to the renewable energy sector.
11:54:34 AM
ADJOURNMENT
There being no further business before the committee, the House
Special Committee on Energy meeting was adjourned at 11:54 p.m.
| Document Name | Date/Time | Subjects |
|---|---|---|
| Jon Powers Alaska Energy Committee Presentation.pdf |
HENE 4/11/2023 10:15:00 AM |
CleanCapital |
| Launch Alaska - House Energy Committee Presentation April 2023.pdf |
HENE 4/11/2023 10:15:00 AM |
Launch Alaska |