Welcome to the Alaska Center for Energy and Power
The Alaska Center for Energy and Power (ACEP) based at the University of Alaska is dedicated to applied energy research and testing focused on lowering the cost of energy throughout Alaska and developing economic opportunities for the State, its residents, and its industries.
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ACEP This Week
- Alaska Hydrokinetic Technology Development and Demonstration Report Released
- ACEP Participates at Careers in Energy Job Fair
- ACEP At Work – Pilgrim Hot Springs Geothermal Assessment Project Weekly Update
- ACEP attends 2013 Arctic Energy Summit in Akureyri, Iceland
- ACEP attends Institute of the North's Chukotka Russian Policy Tour
- ACEP in the Community: Yakutat
- Passive Solar: Your Natural Solution Now
NEWS
Nome Chamber of Commerce Supports ACEP’s Geothermal Research
The Nome Chamber of Commerce voted to support geothermal research at UAF’s Alaska Center for Energy and Power in recognition of its economic potential in their region.
ACEP has been conducting an assessment of the geothermal resource at Pilgrim Hot Springs in partnership with native land owners and UAF’s Geophysical Institute. The research was initially focused on an innovative exploration technique that used infrared technology to estimate the potential power a geothermal resource could produce.
Preliminary results have shown the potential resource to be between 2-4 Megawatts of electricity, interesting the local utility, potential mining customers and a private energy developer who would like to develop the power plant and sell electricity back to the community. In order for the project to move forward, one more drilling season is needed to confirm the output of the resource.
The Nome Chamber of Commerce voted to show their support for the project and its potential economic benefit through a $5000 donation, one of the largest in its history.
‘Our Board and Community members have been watching ACEP’s work with interest, since the stable pricing and diversity of developing a geothermal power could have significant economic benefit to our region,’ reported Chamber Barb Nickels, Nome Chamber of Commerce Executive Director. ‘We are thrilled to support this research and we hope our donation will inspire other community and industry organizations to contribute as well.’
The Alaska Center for Energy and Power and their partners were encouraged by the contribution. ‘Community support has been an important element of this project from the onset,’ said ACEP director and project lead, Gwen Holdmann. ‘It has been our priority to work with landowners and residents in the area to ensure they understood and were behind our work. We are honored by this contribution to our research effort and know our project funding agencies will be pleased as well.’
The project, initially funded by the Alaska Energy Authority and the US Department of Energy, received additional federal funding from DOE for this final drilling, however, it was important to the agency to show community support. The final stage of drilling is scheduled to start mid August.
New ACEP At-A-Glance Published
The latest ACEP At A Glance is now available for download. (PDF | 1.4MB)
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