Sunlight reflects off solar panels lining the student recreation building at the University of Alaska Fairbanks campus on June 2, 2018. Solar and wind energy, with a blend of other sources, can help Alaska’s Railbelt generate 70% to 96% of its electricity from renewables, according to a new report from UAF’s Alaska Center for Energy and Power. (Photo by Yereth Rosen/Alaska Beacon)
Alaska’s most populous corridor can generate most of its electricity through renewable energy, but would require significant upfront capital investment, a University of Alaska Fairbanks team said in a new report .
The report , issued last week by UAF’s Alaska Center for Energy and Power , found that by 2050 non-fossil energy can supply anywhere from 70% to 96% of the power needed to produce electricity along the Railbelt. The region comprises communities from Fairbanks in the Interior to Seward on the Kenai Peninsula, the corridor along the Alaska Railroad line that hold the vast majority of the state’s population.