Blue Planet Energy has successfully deployed a hybrid solar + storage microgrid to support the residents of Shungnak, a remote community above the Arctic
Shungnak, Alaska, a small community above the Arctic Circle, is now benefiting from a first-of-its-kind solar-plus-storage microgrid system, reducing its
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The Native Village of Shungnak, roughly 148 miles east of Kotzebue. (Photo courtesy of Northwest Arctic Borough)
Construction is set to start next spring on a solar battery project in the Northwest Arctic villages of Shungnak and Kobuk. It’s the latest renewable project for a region routinely struck by high energy costs.
It’s always been expensive to provide energy to rural Alaska. With most communities not falling on the road system, locals are forced to barge and fly in diesel fuel to power generators. There is a state program that reduces energy costs, but with the state’s budget crisis, it’s unknown how long that program will be around.