ARENA Program comes to Fairbanks

On June 17th, participants in the 2017 Arctic Remote Energy Networks Academy (ARENA) will arrive in Fairbanks.

ARENA is a capacity-building / knowledge-sharing / network-building initiative focused on establishing sustainable energy solutions for remote communities in the Arctic and other regions of the world.

A key part of the program is three week-long sessions on-site at various locations across the Arctic. ACEP is hosting one of these in the Alaska on-site program, which will include time in Fairbanks, Kotzebue and Nome. Canada hosted the first ARENA on-site in Yellowknife during March, and Iceland will host the third on-site session in Reykjavik during November.

While in Fairbanks, the ARENA participants will visit Chena Hot Springs, the site of the world’s lowest temperature geothermal power plant, and spend time in ACEP’s Power Systems Integration Lab learning about the integration of renewable energy resources with diesel-powered microgrids. They will tour the Cold Climate Housing Research Center in addition to other energy systems in Fairbanks, attend the Alaska Wind-Diesel Workshop, and meet with community and energy champions.

The participants then travel to Kotzebue and Nome to observe wind, solar and other energy installations and meet with the local stakeholders and power plant operators.

The ARENA program has been endorsed by the Arctic Council's Sustainable Development Working Group (SDWG), and is co-led by the United States, Canada, Finland, Iceland, Aleut International Association and Gwich’in Council International.

Twenty individuals from across the north were selected by the SDWG to participate in the 2017 ARENA program. Among them are nine Alaskans, coming from communities as far separated as Sand Point and Fort Yukon, Kodiak and Kotzebue.