New book highlights Alaska’s rural energy innovators
Water spills from the Swan Lake hydroelectric facility at the head of Carroll Inlet, about 22 miles northeast of Ketchikan, Alaska, after a record rainfall in July 2020.
October 9, 2026
The Alaska Center for Energy and Power at the University of Alaska Fairbanks will host a free event celebrating the launch of “Alaska’s Microgrid Innovators,” a new book about the people and communities shaping Alaska’s energy future.
Written by energy researchers, utility operators and rural community leaders, the book examines Alaska’s energy development through the experiences of rural communities that have adopted wind, solar, hydropower and other low-carbon energy sources. It looks beyond the state’s more familiar history of oil and natural gas to explore how communities have developed local energy systems, reduced costs and responded to changing energy needs.
The book also examines what Alaska can learn from these experiences as communities face rising energy costs, changing environmental conditions and other challenges. It highlights the importance of succession planning and public policy in sustaining local energy systems.
The event will feature a panel discussion with several contributors to the book: Gwen Holdmann, chief scientist at ACEP; Connie Fredenberg, a utility and community relations professional; Philip Wight, associate professor of history at UAF; and Peter Asmus, president of Pathfinder Communications and editor and collator of the book’s chapters.
This free event is open to the public and takes place on Monday, Oct. 26, from 5:30-7 p.m. in the BP Design Theater on the UAF Troth Yeddha’ campus.