ACEP Partners with Navigant for Comprehensive Arctic Microgrid Report

ACEP has teamed up with Navigant Research to co-author a report quantifying the full extent of microgrid activity in the Arctic region.

While Alaska has long been recognized as a leader in remote microgrid development, this report also takes into account larger regional grids in Alaska, such as the Railbelt and Southeast Alaska Power Agency grids. These grids encompass a number of nested and linked service areas that are capable of self-generating and “islanding” from the larger regional grid. When including these systems and aggregating them with the large number of rural remote microgrids in the state, Alaska is home to just over 50% of the total U.S. installed capacity in microgrids.

Alaska’s development in microgrids is mirrored in the rest of the circumpolar Arctic. The total installed capacity for microgrids in the circumpolar Arctic (with 3,690 megawatts) represented 13.7% of the total worldwide in the second quarter of fiscal year 2019, according to Navigant Research’s Microgrid Tracker. The report is available at https://www.navigantresearch.com/reports/microgrid-innovation-in-the-circumpolar-arctic 

 

Pilgrim Hotsprings. Photo by Chris Pike.