Alaska power companies look at building community solar farms that households can invest in

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Two electric utilities are taking steps that could lead to construction of Alaska’s first community solar farms, which could pave the way for projects that open up solar panel investments to households that can't afford to install their own rooftop array.

Golden Valley Electric has directed its staff to study the idea of building a community solar array in Fairbanks, after a task force“We’re a cooperative, we’re owned by our members, and a significant and vocal group has expressed an interest in this,” DeLong said.

“We also recommend flexible eligibility that allows members to pre-purchase the panels in a six month or one year plan, in essence a Community Solar layaway plan,” the task force said in a report to the utility board. ”Smaller monthly payments will help accessibility by low to moderate income members in the community solar.”

The agency would approve how the payment is structured for participants, and would make sure a program does not discriminate against non-participants, DeLong said.The Regulatory Commission in 2019 called Chugach Electric’s proposal for a community solar farm “confusing and undefined.” The agency raised concerns that all ratepayers would bear financial responsibility, not just the participants.

“Understanding the concerns of the RCA with our previous project should help us craft a project that could get regulatory approval,” Hasquet said. “Many factors still need to be determined, including size, scope, and costs.”Chugach Electric recently sent a survey to “the more than 600 members who had shown interest in our 2017/2018 community solar project,” Hasquet said in an email. “We had a list of members who had asked to be kept informed of progress on a project.

 

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LaunchAlaska Actually, many would be surprised how effective could this be even in Alaska. Think about how much you spent on oil in rural areas instead of using the energy of the sun. Definitely a very long investment but can pay off.

Love it

Alaska needs small scale nuclear not solar.

How much sunlight does Alaska see between Sept and Jun? Would small form nuclear (SMR) be a better investment for Alaska? NuScale_Power TerraPower

I’m very sad to tell you that solar farms won’t work very well up in Alaska it’s on the wrong parallel. Waste of money good old taxpayer money we might as will burn it

How do you keep them clean from snow and ice.

Prepare to Freeze Great. Gross.

I wonder what the profits will be from the subsidies? And who will pay?

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