Does coal have a role in Alaska's energy future? - Fairbanks Daily News-Miner

Does coal have a role in Alaska’s energy future? | Community Features | newsminer.com

Editor’s note: This is the final article in a series on Alaska-focused energy topics contributed by Gwen Holdmann, Alaska Center for Energy and Power founder and UAF Associate Vice Chancellor for Research, Innovation & Industry Partnerships.

On a sunny day on Aug. 28, 2018, a crowd gathered at the University of Alaska Fairbanks to celebrate the completion of its new combined heat and power coal-fired power plant. The $245 million facility was sized to produce enough steam to heat all the buildings and generate 17 megawatts of electricity — more than enough to meet all the needs of campus. The project had taken five years to get to this point, and would require another 18 months before it was fully operational. But on that day, excitement over the imminent completion of the facility rippled through the crowd, coupled with a sense of palpable relief.