REAP Monthly Forums

(From March 10th Forum: How to cut AK electricity use by 50% by 2025)

Elizabeth Outten, of the Alaska Conservation Alliance, gave a great presentation on their “Railbelt Electricity Efficiency Landscape” report on how Alaskans can cut electricity use in the Railbelt by 50%.

The report maps out a guide to achieving energy savings with new policies and changes in existing practices. The 50% figure is a goal not a hard and fast number, she said. It gives Alaskans something to strive for. 

That said, Alaskans can do many thigns to reduce our energy use that don’t require a lot of work, she said. We can switch to energy efficient lighting and appliances. We can put our TVs and computers on powerstrips so they don’t draw energy when they’re turned off. We can also better insulate our homes to save on heating costs.

She said the report found most homes in Anchorage were built before 1980, which typically means they are not well insulated.

There was a lot of discussion about hurdles, particularly in financing energy efficiency improvements, which in some cases can have high up-front costs.

Among the possible solutions talked about were financing schemes that allow energy efficiency upgrades to be tied to property taxes, or tied to a specific electric meter and then repaid through utility bills on the property...

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