SB 150 Emerging Technology Fund bill

One of Three Priorities for Enhancing Alaska’s Quality of Life and Protecting a Healthy Environment

The creation of the Renewable Energy Grant Fund in 2008 was a critical first step in the process of promoting a secure clean energy future for Alaska.  However, the Renewable Energy Fund was not designed to fund developing technologies that are not yet fully commercialized.  We now need to emphasize to the Governor and the legislature that it is in the state’s best interest to adequately capitalize a renewable energy research and development fund, including the creation of targeted workforce development training programs. There is a great need all over the USA, and especially in Alaska, to train workers at the vocational/technical and university levels to meet the challenges posed by the quickly developing renewable energy and energy efficiency industries.  Establishing an Emerging Technology Fund will not only engage faculty and students at Alaska’s University system, it could also lead to the formation of companies that develop renewable energy systems that have markets and applications around the world. The $55 billion/year “clean energy” business is expected to at least quadruple worldwide by 2015.

Establishing an Emerging Technology Fund is one way to not only position Alaska to capture some of this global interest but to help grow our cutting edge University programs and create a highly valued workforce. As such aim of the Fund would be to provide grants and loans to university researchers, non-profits, private industry and local governments for research and demonstration projects, and market transformation of renewable energy technologies that have a  likelihood of becoming economically viable.

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