What happened to the Last Frontier? Reflections on Alaska, Part 3

It’s past due for Alaska to think strategically about the next innovative chapter of its frontier story. Wait no longer. The historic dependence on natural resources is not sufficient or sustainable to propel Alaska success in the 21st century. Natural resources must be sparingly harvested. Strange things are happening in the age of global warming. Look at the Yukon River salmon run – virtually nil this year. Arctic ice is melting rapidly. “Drill baby drill” is no longer the drill.

World challenges are not being met anywhere. Consider the likely destructive force of global warming, economic inequality and poverty, which can generate conflict, violence, terrorism and war. Doing nothing to prepare a defense against predictable environmental and human catastrophes is self-destructive.

Alaska’s in a position to lead. Its 20th century capacity to reduce poverty and inequality can be adapted by nations where the bottom billion live. Enterprises for the poor can be capitalized by Sovereign Investment funds like Alaska’s Permanent Fund to impact poverty and inequality, which can reduce conflict in an increasingly polarized world. That much is clear. But what can Alaska do back home to spur innovation, wealth creation and prosperity for Alaskans in the 21st century?

It may seem counterintuitive to imagine an oil state leading to a carbon zero, digitized economy, but Alaska has surprised in the past. Three technologies to consider are renewable energy, indoor agriculture, and data centers. When integrated, these three technologies can create hundreds of digital enterprises and many thousands of good-paying, smart jobs while adding fresh food and profitable enterprises to an evolving knowledge economy. Consider the following:

Renewable Power

As an oil state, Alaska will wake up the world if it creates a transformational energy solution that spurs economic growth. Oil drove wealth creation in the 20th century everywhere, but non-carbon fuels will power the 21st century if wealth creation is to continue. The writing is on the wall and industry leaders know it.

Carbon is already winding down worldwide, just as it is in Alaska’s pipeline. The time is now to generate clean energy which powers profitable digital businesses and employs knowledge workers. Alaska can incentivize global expert firms in digital enterprises to invest and site facilities in Alaska. Digitalization spells the death to distance as a factor in Alaska’s economy – no place is remote to the electron. In the digital economy, Alaska has no geographic disadvantages, as it does with exporting oil and importing food it needs to live. The costs of imports and exports can plummet.

Alaska has too much space and too few people to centralize energy generation or production facilities requiring long power lines, pipelines, railroads or highways. Legacy centralization and transmission of energy or food are obsolete in the age of distributive renewal energy and digital economy.

Distributed solar power arrays can supply 23% of Alaska’s current demand. Solar’s world kWh price is getting competitive with hydro. For those who believe solar is impractical because Alaska averages only 3.0 hours of sun per day (annually), study Germany which averages 3.3 hours of solar a day and produces 9% of its national energy from solar -- and is the major solar producer in Europe.

Battery technology advances are making energy storage efficient, so solar can eventually become a base power, not just a peaking power. By 2050, there will be a mile-long solar array in stationary orbit producing gigawatts of power transmitted by radio wave to an array on earth. China, the U.K. and the USA are racing to be first in owning that. Only a few percent of the sun’s energy is captured for power generation on earth today. We can do better.

Wind power is a perfect technology for Alaska’s coast, which is longer than the lower 48 states combined, and where a big majority of Alaskans live and work. Alaska wind has the potential of producing 6.3 million megawatt-hours of electricity, which is more than the 5.8 million megawatt- hours Alaska used in 2020. Wind already produces 3% of Alaska’s energy but could produce a big chunk more just where Alaska needs it.

Tragically, over 57% of the electricity Alaskans used in 2020 produced carbon emissions – by burning coal, oil and gas. This dirty energy was purchased by Alaskans at a prohibitive average price of 22 cents per kWh, one of the highest average prices in the 50 states. The best solar arrays can produce as low as 5 cents per kWh and the best wind power plants can reach 3 cents per kWh. Renewable energy is already as cheap as carbon and has none of the downside.

Inexpensive solar and wind plants produce no carbon emissions while expensive carbon-fueled electricity plants produce tons of carbon. In the 21st century, electricity from burning carbon is a counter-productive, inefficient, and wasteful practice. Why burn carbon when unused clean energy is available that produces digital enterprises and jobs?

Next in this series is: Indoor Agriculture and Data Centers

Michael Rowan is the co-founder of Climate Prosperity Enterprise Solutions, an international development consultancy, with the architect and former US Ambassador and US Representative, Richard N. Swett; Tim Bradner, editor of the Alaska Economic Report, contributed to this article.