OPINION: It’s time to invest in Alaska’s energy future

As 2024 begins, the warnings about our planet heating up keep coming. Headlines appear daily warning us of impending calamities and a future in peril. As the father of a 15-year-old, I worry about what will be left for him and his generation — and generations to come.

As recently reported, the waters off Alaska’s Aleutian Islands registered their highest winter temperatures in more than a century, part of a decade-long period of warming, according to a report issued by the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration. There are a myriad of other examples. Climate change is the biggest challenge facing humanity. Alaska is feeling those challenges at a dramatic rate, and we need to be part of the solution.

Often it can feel overwhelming. But solutions abound for a transition to an energy economy that will address climate change and give our children the future they deserve. Will we continue to take the easy path that has gotten us to the brink of collapse? Or can we try to work toward a future that envisions new energy sources, an electrified economy, and the next generation of jobs to meet the moment?

What types of investments will lead us toward that future? The federal government is trying to provide incentives for both energy efficiency and renewable energy production with funding through the Bipartisan Infrastructure Law, or BIL, and the Inflation Reduction Act, or IRA. The time for transition is now. But Alaska continues to push for more of the same — more drilling, a pipeline that will be obsolete once completed.

We need to be investing in things that are going to provide a return for the future, not more pollution that will lead to more warming and more problems.

One solution Gov. Mike Dunleavy proposed in his budget would establish a “green bank” for Alaska that would finance renewable energy projects and energy efficiency programs. It is estimated that every dollar in that fund can spur as much as nine additional dollars in grants and private-sector money.

According to the EPA, as of 2021, there are 21 green banks in 16 states and the District of Columbia, with $7 billion in investments since 2011. We need to increase that rapidly, and Alaska needs to be part of this smart solution to finance more renewable energy and multiply investment.

When the Alaska Legislature’s session begins this week, there will be other bills addressing energy solutions in addition to the governor’s proposal for a green bank. Rep. Jesse Sumner, R-Wasilla, and Sen. Löki Tobin, D-Anchorage, are pushing a renewable portfolio standard, or RPS, for Railbelt utilities. The RPS bill sets benchmarks for how much of a utility’s power generation should come from renewable sources.

According to the National Conference of State Legislatures, aka NCSL, more than half the states have RPS targets and they help drive the nation’s $269 billion market for wind, solar and other renewable energy sources. Roughly half of the growth in U.S. renewable energy generation since the beginning of the 2000s can be attributed to state renewable energy requirements, according to the NCSL. Alaska should get on that path to energy diversity and economic development. Gov. Dunleavy is also a proponent of the RPS.

On a trip to the Hoover Dam with my family, we couldn’t help being struck by the sheer enormity of the engineering that humans can put together. Yet the response to the water shortage in the area is to drill a lower intake, to suck more water out of the rapidly depleting reservoir. We can’t afford to do that with our energy future. Alaskans are on the sharp edge of climate change effects, and we need to be on the forefront of solutions that will transform our energy sector, catalyze new businesses and economic development while ensuring a robust future for our children and future generations.

Steve Cleary is a nonprofit organization director in Anchorage and the proud parent of an East High 10th grader.

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