Energy security for the Aleutian-Pribilof Islands and Mariana Islands

September 20, 2026

More than 4,500 miles separate Guam from Fairbanks, Alaska. This summer, Cassandra Paule crossed that distance to study a question connecting the two places, “How can remote island communities strengthen their energy systems while preserving the cultures, values and priorities of the people who call them home?”

A recent chemistry graduate of the University of Guam, Paule grew up in Guam seeing the energy challenges faced by island communities. She hopes to build a career in energy, with a focus on diversifying and decarbonizing energy systems.

An internship with the Alaska Center for Energy and Power gave her an opportunity to look beyond Guam and learn how another group of islanded communities approaches energy security.

Under the guidance of Leasi Vanessa Lee Raymond of ACEP, Paule examined the energy systems of the Aleutian-Pribilof and Mariana Islands, with particular attention to the values and needs of the Indigenous Unangax̂ and CHamoru people who live in these regions.

At the center of her work was a framework for understanding remote islanded energy systems in the context of their communities. Rather than looking at energy infrastructure alone, the framework considers the social, historical and cultural contexts that shape how communities experience energy and what they need from their energy systems.

That perspective is increasingly important as remote communities face the possibility of major new energy demands. Military buildups, data centers and deep-sea mining projects could bring new infrastructure and investment to or near these regions, potentially transforming local energy systems.

For Paule, the question is not simply how to provide more energy.

“Changes in their energy should not curtail their cultural activities and values,” she said.

Her work also led her to an unexpected realization — Alaska and the Pacific, despite their vastly different climates, landscapes and locations, share surprising similarities.

Both regions include remote islanded communities that can face high energy costs and dependence on diesel fuel. Both have histories shaped by outside powers and infrastructure decisions. And both are home to Indigenous communities whose cultural values and priorities are an important part of conversations about energy development.

At the same time, Paule found that energy systems vary significantly both within and between the two regions. Those differences make it important to understand each community on its own terms rather than assuming that one solution will work everywhere, she said.

The similarities, however, suggest an opportunity for greater dialogue between Alaska and the Pacific.

Paule hopes her work can help contribute to that conversation and to a broader shift in how energy security is understood.

“Often we see energy security from the perspective of global powers, but those most affected don’t have a say in it,” Paule said.

Studying energy security in Alaska became an opportunity for Paule to consider who gets to shape the future of energy and how the voices of the communities most affected can be part of that future.

This internship was funded by the ACEP Undergraduate Summer Internship program, the Department of Navy Office of Naval Research’s Alaska Regional Collaboration for Technology Innovation and Commercialization program and Leasi Vanessa Lee Raymond’s research funds. View the final presentation for this project on ACEP’s YouTube channel. For more information about this project, please contact Raymond at vlraymond@alaska.edu. 

This work relates to the Department of Navy awards N00014-22-1-2049 and N00014-24-1-2675 issued by the Office of Naval Research. Any opinions, findings, and conclusions or recommendations expressed in this material are those of the author(s) and do not necessarily reflect the views of the Office of Naval Research.