(For prior week's news, please visit the ACEP This Week Archive)

On August 20th – 30th, Ross Coen, ACEP’s published historian, will be traveling to Texas and Louisiana to interview oil industry personnel and government regulators for a research project comparing the “life cycles” of oil fields in Alaska and the Gulf Coast. The goal of the study is to understand how technological innovation and public policy affect the period of transition in mature oil fields when major oil companies begin to leave the fields and are replaced by smaller, often more aggressive independents. The Gulf region holds a number of historical lessons for Alaska as we face declining production in both Cook Inlet and the North Slope.

This week representatives of the M.J. Murdock Charitable Trust are coming to Fairbanks to meet with the Alaska Hydrokinetic Energy Research Center (AHERC) affiliated faculty. AHERC submitted a proposal to the foundation in Nov. 2012 and the site visit is part of the proposal evaluation process. Gwen Holdmann, Jerome Johnson, Jeremy Kasper, Andy Seitz and Jack Schmid are looking forward to meeting with trust representatives on Tuesday and giving them a tour of ACEP's Fairbanks facilities as well as the Tanana River test site.

ACEP’s 2013 student interns are headed back to school after a summer spent working on applied research projects.  Hear what they had to say about their experience.

This week’s highlighted vodcast:

Christopher Pike

• Graduated in May 2013 from Appalachian State University
• Department of Technology and Environmental Design
• MSc Technology with a focus on renewable energy technology

Christopher’s focus during his internship was working on ACEP’s Performance Evaluation of the Emerging Energy Technology Fund.   He will continue his work at ACEP on the Pilgrim Hot Springs Project for the foreseeable future.

ACEP, along with the Alaska Energy Authority is a proud co-organizer of the 2014 Alaska Rural Energy Conference.  The conference is tentatively slated for September in Fairbanks.

For a look at the 2013 agenda and presentations go to the Alaska Rural Energy Conference homepage.

Pilar Thomas (U. S. Department of Energy, Acting Director of Office of Indian Energy Policy and Programs) and Jennifer DeCesaro (Program Manager for DOE Office of Energy Efficiency Integrated Deployment) toured ACEP’s Emerging Technology Facility (ETF) this morning.  Both DOE officials are in Alaska to attend the 8th Annual Chena Hot Springs Renewable Energy Fair.  Their tour of ACEP’s ETF served to strengthen ACEP’s relationship with DOE and could lead to further collaboration between the two organizations in the future.

Representative Shelly Hughes along with staff member Brandon Brefczynski also toured ACEP’s ETF today.  They were joined by Deputy Director-Statewide Energy Policy Development Gene Theriault and Director of the Institute of Northern Engineering Dan White.  The Representative was also in town for the Renewable Energy Fair at Chena and was happy to have the opportunity to tour ACEP's new facility.

The Alaska Center for Energy & Power is an applied research program under the Institute of Northern Engineering located at the University of Alaska Fairbanks.   For more information contact Julie Estey, Business Director, Julie.estey@alaska.edu.

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