Engineers, planners, and activists agree: if we are to keep global warming below 1.5 degrees Celsius, we must electrify everything: all transportation, all building systems, all industry. And we must transition the generation of that electricity to renewable sources. By doing so, we will save money, slash greenhouse gases, and avert multiple climate tragedies while maintaining the quality of life that we are accustomed to.
The technology currently exists for us to electrify our lives, from electric vehicles to air source heat pumps, and the adoption of these technologies is growing exponentially. Yet, Juneau still has a long energy road to travel. Although some tout the community’s renewable energy credentials (after all, hydro-powered electricity provides most of our current electrical needs during an above normal rainfall year), the truth is more alarming: only 20% of the energy we use derives from renewable electricity. In 2010, 78% of our energy was derived from carbon-based fossil fuels.
We must confidently and systematically flip these numbers around by 2045 for us to achieve the goal set out in the Juneau Renewable Energy Strategy, which affirms 80% of our energy will derive from renewable sources.
For some, this goal might seem ambitious. Yet science, for one, is on our side. The technology exists today for us to electrify our lives. Moreover, renewable energy is more efficient than thermodynamic energy (like fossil fuels). This means we can operate on less renewable energy than fossil fuel-derived energy. Rewiring America, an organization dedicated to beneficial electrification, asserts that if we electrified everything, we would only need 40% of the energy that’s currently deployed. This equates to economic and environmental savings.
Still, Juneau requires a greater supply of renewable electricity to meet our future needs. Duff Mitchell, Managing Director of Juneau Hydropower, is laboring to bring us the megawatts we need to power the community we envision. And vision Duff has in spades. From being a founding member of the Juneau Electric Vehicle Association, to wrangling the support that so far has resulted in $9 million in federal grants to purchase electrical buses for Capital Transit, to an ambitious plan to bring district heating* to downtown Juneau, as well as an intertie to integrate the grid of northern SE Alaska, Duff is behind many of the beneficial electrification projects in our community.
The most significant of these is Juneau Hydropower’s development of a new hydropower facility at Sweetheart Lake, located south of Juneau in Port Snettisham. Once activated, Sweetheart Lake will boost the supply of renewable energy in Juneau by 20% to 25%.
Energy is the bedrock of the economy, Duff notes. Whether it’s the seafood industry, transportation, mining, or tourism, all sectors require energy to operate, and for some energy is the second greatest expense after labor. “We are one of the few places in the world with a plethora of renewable resources,” Duff explains. “High costs of energy bring economic stagnation. We can develop energy locally and sustainably while lowering the cost and improving the quality of life of the community.”
Once developed, Sweetheart will provide renewable energy to meet a host of Juneau energy needs. Duff notes that it will provide enough electricity to power both mines, provide power to electrify all the cruise docks, and run household air source heat pumps. The project is ready for construction and has a license in hand from the Federal Energy Regulatory Commission (FERC). The last remaining step is to receive a Snettisham Transmission line interconnection agreement from the State of Alaska and AEL&P.
Another essential aspect for assuring local energy security and meeting the community’s renewable electricity needs is finishing the Southeast intertie project, Duff notes. Currently, Juneau operates as a stranded electrical grid, lacking transmission lines that connect us to other communities and utilities. southern Southeast Alaska, from Ketchikan to Petersburg, is connected through an intertie, allowing these communities to sell and purchase needed electrical lodes. It is now time to integrate a northern Southeast Alaska intertie from Juneau northward to Haines and Skagway. “Then we can bring renewable electricity where it’s needed throughout northern Southeast, Duff explains. This will hasten the region’s conversion to zero-carbon with lower power costs.
“For whom much is provided, much is required,” quotes Duff. “I take it as a personal and community responsibility to be 100% renewable and sustainable.” Once Sweetheart Lake is online, Juneau will be that much closer to achieving our energy potential.
*Project Drawdown ranks district heating as the 27th of 80 most effective solutions to climate change.