Energy
The demanding Arctic climate and vast lands with limited infrastructure create extreme challenges and vulnerabilities for energy access, use, and management. These challenges and vulnerabilities, in turn, create limitations and demands only met with innovative, resilient systems.
The Alaska Center for Energy and Power (ACEP) is an applied energy research program that seeks to facilitate technology maturation and integration risk mitigation associated with energy systems (electrical, thermal) in both islanded, non-integrated electric grids at remote locations and urban settings with intertied / leverageable energy resources. ACEP’s collaboration partner network includes industry, academia, DOE / other federal agency, and international organizations. ACEP is headquartered in Fairbanks, has a satellite office in Anchorage, and maintains a broad network of affiliated researchers across Alaska and in other regions. ACEP’s in-house test assets include a microgrid testing laboratory and an in-river hydrokinetic energy test site in the greater Fairbanks area.
The Alaska Center for Energy and Power (ACEP) is leading UAF’s exploration of applications for nuclear micro-reactors. In this capacity, ACEP is coordinating with other UAF organizations associated with key operational issues associated with implementation of nuclear reactors in Alaska (e.g., community engagement, air/water quality, seismology and geology, workforce development). Efforts are currently focusing on characterizing energy requirements (thermal as well as electrical) and energy system integration analyses of defense, industry, utility, and community sites, and monitoring status of the evolving industry. ACEP’s findings in these regards will be published via its website as a complement to the 2011 “Small Scale Modular Nuclear Power: an option for Alaska” report and as presentations in various nuclear industry meetings.
