Solar power in Alaska

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Solar panels in Kanuti National Wildlife Refuge Kanuti Lake Camp Solar power system.jpg
Solar panels in Kanuti National Wildlife Refuge

Solar power in Alaska has been primarily used in remote locations, [1] such as the Nenana Teen Center [2] near Fairbanks, where long summer days provide most of the electricity generated. [3] [4] In 2015, Alaska ranked 45th in installed solar among U.S. states. [5] Rooftop solar panels could provide 23% of all electricity used in Alaska. [6] Net metering is available for PV systems up to 25  kW but is limited to 1.5% of average demand. [7] IREC best practices, based on experience, recommends no limits to net metering, individual or aggregate, and perpetual roll over of kWh credits. [8]

Contents

In 2011, Alaska's largest solar array was the 17.28 kW array installed on a building in Anchorage. [9] [10] A 12 kW solar array installed in Lime Village in July 2001 helped reduce electricity costs. [11] [12]

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.

Statistics

Solar power in Alaska
Source: NREL [13]
Grid-Connected PV Capacity (MWp) [14] [15] [16] [17] [18]
YearCapacityChange% Change
2010<0.1
2011<0.1
2012<0.1
20130.20.2>100%
20140.390.2120%
20150.720.3385%
20160.950.2332%
20171.750.884%
20182.781.2370%
20197.785180%
202012.14.3256%
202115.43.327%
2022182.6 %

See also

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References

  1. Renewable Energy in Alaska
  2. Nenana Teen Center
  3. Do Solar Panels Work in Alaska? Archived 2012-05-28 at the Wayback Machine
  4. Tiny Alaskan Village May Set Solar Pace for Remote Areas
  5. Alaska, SEIA, accessed June 4, 2016
  6. Report Argues for a Decentralized System of Renewable Power Generation
  7. Alaska - Net Metering Archived 2012-04-18 at the Wayback Machine
  8. Net Metering and Interconnection Procedures Incorporating Best Practices
  9. Solar Panels Light Up Downtown Building Archived 2012-06-15 at the Wayback Machine
  10. Anchorage Solar Building
  11. View from the Field – Solar in Alaska Archived 2013-02-03 at archive.today
  12. Hybrid generator cuts Lime Village energy costs
  13. "PV Watts". NREL. Retrieved 9 June 2012.
  14. Sherwood, Larry (August 2012). "U.S. Solar Market Trends 2011" (PDF). Interstate Renewable Energy Council (IREC). Archived from the original (PDF) on 2012-09-06. Retrieved 2012-08-16.
  15. Sherwood, Larry (June 2011). "U.S. Solar Market Trends 2010" (PDF). Interstate Renewable Energy Council (IREC). Retrieved 2011-06-29.
  16. Sherwood, Larry (July 2009). "U.S. Solar Market Trends 2008" (PDF). Interstate Renewable Energy Council (IREC). p. 16. Archived from the original (PDF) on 2009-11-23. Retrieved 2010-07-24.
  17. Sherwood, Larry (July 2012). "U.S. Solar Market Trends 2012" (PDF). Interstate Renewable Energy Council (IREC). p. 16. Retrieved 2013-10-11.
  18. Alaska Solar