Alaska: A largely untapped reservoir of opportunity for solar-based electricity and innovation

Start-ups like Renewable IPP are proving that despite changing weather conditions and external factors, the state fosters a high demand for solar development.

In a small, freezing Alaska town fifty miles north of Anchorage, a company is proving that solar energy can be utilized and innovated even when weather patterns make it seem highly improbable. Renewable Independent Power Producers (IPP) is based in the town of Willow and has operations based primarily in the development and installation of utility-scale solar farms from land acquisition to financing all the way up to complete installation and maintenance. The company’s mission is stated as “Increasing the renewable energy contribution to Alaska’s power supply by developing economically viable, utility scale solar energy projects” (Renewable IPP).  

Renewable’s business model seems improbable with Willow only receiving around six hours of daylight per day during the winter months. Nonetheless, the startup completed a 2019 project involving the installation of Alaska’s largest solar farm: 10 acres of panels and rows with a projected yearly output of 1.33 MW hours per year, giving potential to power 120 homes on average annually.  In addition, Renewable is conducting research with the University of Alaska-Fairbanks, specifically through the solar technology program at the UA Center for Energy and Power, attempting to see if certain coatings can be used on panels for snow to slide off easily during the winter months, rendering them less limited.

“Solar viability is a function of two things: solar resource and electricity prices,”

Jenn Miller, CEO of Renewable IPP

Alaska has some of the highest electricity prices in the nation, almost double the U.S. average. These statistics have paved the way for innovative renewable energy companies like Renewable IPP and Golden Valley Electric Association (GVEA). In October 2018, GVEA completed a three-acre solar farm in the northern town of Fairbanks. The farm has enough megawatts of output to power around 70 homes annually. It’s also located around 200 miles from the Arctic Circle, making it one of the northernmost solar projects in the entire world.  

For investors, Alaska is a jackpot of opportunity for renewable energy, especially solar. Regardless of weather patterns and other physical factors, the demand for solar-based electricity is high due to the continually high prices. For existing solar companies, the state has potential to become a good place to establish consistent supply chains with the right amount of leverage and logistical support.