Alaska Policy Issues Interest Princeton Graduate Students 

ACEP welcomed a group of graduate students from Princeton School of Public and International Affairs to the University of Alaska Fairbanks office last week. They were visiting Alaska to learn more about policy issues in the state. 

The students were interested in learning from our ACEP team about how energy is provided in Alaska, how the state addresses the challenges and opportunities relating to energy transition, and how energy policy in Alaska relates to climate adaptation, Arctic policy, Indigenous issues and security. Several of the students had prior experience in energy and climate policy. 

Welcoming the group to ACEP, Interim Director Jeremy Kasper kicked off the meeting with an overview of ACEP’s mission. He described the broad scope of the work that ACEP is involved in and the interdisciplinary skills that make up the team.

Kasper handed over the conversation to ACEP researchers Dominique Pride, Daisy Huang, Jeremy VanderMeer, Ben Loeffler and Phylicia Ciclio to talk about ACEP’s work with Railbelt decarbonization, energy justice in isolated communities, and the feasibility of heat pump, biomass and high-voltage direct current technology deployment. 

Princeton graduate student, Charles Fraser, left his time with the ACEP team with a much more robust understanding of energy issues that Alaska faces and the work that is happening to address them. 

"Our meeting with the ACEP team gave us a deep dive into the unique challenges of energy supply and access in Alaska, given its size and many remote communities, said Fraser. “From the integration of renewables into microgrids to Railbelt decarbonization, it was great to hear how ACEP research is being applied to solve real issues in the state."

ACEP thanks the Princeton University graduate students for making us a part of their Alaska tour to learn about what we are doing in order to make energy more equitable and sustainable for Alaska and other northern latitude communities.

 

Princeton School of Public and International Affairs student Charles Fraser speaks with ACEP Interim Director Jeremy Kasper during a recent visit to learn more about Alaska Policy. Photo by Jeff Fisher.