Solar power in Alaska

Solar power in Alaska has been primarily used in remote locations,Renewable Energy in Alaska such as the Nenana Teen CenterNenana Teen Center near Fairbanks, where long summer days provide most of the electricity generated.Do Solar Panels Work in Alaska? Tiny Alaskan Village May Set Solar Pace for Remote Areas In 2015, Alaska ranked 45th in installed solar among U.S. states.Alaska, SEIA, accessed June 4, 2016 Rooftop solar panels could provide 23% of all electricity used in Alaska.Report Argues for a Decentralized System of Renewable Power Generation Net metering is available for PV systems up to 25 kW but is limited to 1.5% of average demand.Alaska - Net Metering IREC best practices, based on experience, recommends no limits to net metering, individual or aggregate, and perpetual roll over of kWh credits.Net Metering and Interconnection Procedures Incorporating Best Practices

In 2011, Alaska's largest solar array was the 17.28 kW array installed on a building in Anchorage.Solar Panels Light Up Downtown Building Anchorage Solar Building A 12 kW solar array installed in Lime Village in July 2001 helped reduce electricity costs.View from the Field – Solar in Alaska Hybrid generator cuts Lime Village energy costs

Annual insolation and thus power production per capacity installed in Alaska is similar to central Europe, where Germany became a leader in worldwide solar power use in the years around 2010.

The Houston Solar Farm in Matanuska-Susitna Borough is the state's largest solar facility, at 8.5 MW, built in 2023. The project is designed with steeply angled and elevated bifacial panels and wide spacing between rows to accommodate snow removal and shade reduction. The project will be used for agrivoltaics research.

The Puppy Dog Lake Project in Nikiski, on the Kenai Peninsula, is planned to be 30 MW.

Statistics Source: NREL

Grid-connected PV capacity (MWp)Alaska SolarYearCapacityChange% change 2010 <0.1 2011 <0.1 2012 <0.1 2013 0.2 0.2 >100% 2014 0.39 0.21 20% 2015 0.72 0.33 85% 2016 0.95 0.23 32% 2017 1.75 0.8 84% 2018 2.78 1.23 70% 2019 7.78 5 180% 2020 12.1 4.32 56% 2021 15.4 3.3 27% 2022 18 2.6 %

See also

List of power stations in Alaska Wind power in Alaska Solar power in the United States Renewable energy in the United States

References

External links