As explained in the report’s background section (p. 8), many industries calculate their employment impacts by tabulating direct employment (roles that work with physical energy efficiency and renewable energy infrastructure) and then modeling indirect positions (administrative, regulatory, financial, and supply chain jobs behind energy projects) and induced positions (broad array of support and service jobs created by direct and indirect employee wages) for a fuller picture of the economic footprint of their industry. These analyses can range widely depending on the breadth of the induced positions included—for instance, one recent analysis, developed by the McKinley Research Group using 2022 data and commissioned by the Alaska Oil & Gas Association, states that every direct oil and gas industry employee in the state supports another 15 indirect and induced positions. Their modeling includes not only payroll, goods, and services positions, but also positions funded by oil- and gas-related government revenue.

Construction underway on a solar project in Galena, Alaska. Photo: Jade Powell/REAP 

There are models in the K-12 space that could provide the initial foundation for developing best practices for culturally responsive postsecondary programs. Initiatives like the Pulasaraq curriculum, developed by the Lower Yukon School District and the Association of Alaska School Boards, and SeaAlaska Heritage Institute’s robust education offerings, including their Culturally Responsive Educator conference and science, technology, engineering, art and math curriculum, are two regionally specific examples. Long-term partnerships with Tribal organizations, postsecondary institutions, and energy employers would be essential to integrate culturally relevant and responsive elements into energy training opportunities across the state.

High school students listen to Angoon Alaska Youth Stewards coordinator Eric Benedict. Photo: Jenny Starrs/REAP

Staying up-to-date on Alaska’s clean energy workforce data, including overall and subcategory job changes, employer hiring experiences, and wage differentials, is invaluable. Not only can this data direct workforce development efforts and partnerships toward the highest need positions, but it also communicates the value of Alaska’s clean energy sector, employers, and workers to industry, state, and federal partners. Existing sources like DOE’s USEER and the AKDOLWD’s Nonresident Worker Report and Jobs Forecast are key sources of overarching workforce data, but are not readily informative for local clean energy workforce measurements and trends. The Opportunity Analysis appendix and attachment documents lay out the data worksheets and methodology used to define and chart clean energy workforce trends in Alaska from 2022–2024. Future research initiatives could apply this model to subsequent publications, starting with the recently released 2026 USEER, to generate a deeper understanding of Alaska’s clean energy workforce opportunities and trends over time.

From there, expanding this analysis to include Alaska-specific data from more sources, like state-level AKDOWLD research and analysis efforts, could surface additional insights to inform industry investment and augment workforce development efforts in Alaska’s clean energy space. A first step here could be working with AKDOLWD to include more clean energy jobs in state-level projections and their other research and analysis efforts so that this data is publicly available and accessible going forward.

A solar farm worksite in Galena, Alaska. Photo: Jade Powell/REAP

ANEEE Program Manager Jenny Starrs facilitates an energy workforce development panel. Photo: Donovan Russoniello/REAP

REAP’s Alaska Network for Energy Education and Employment (ANEEE) facilitates the Alaska Energy Training Group as a community of practice for energy trainers, employers, and other workforce development professionals to connect, brainstorm, and collaborate. Topical quarterly meetings feature presenters from across the state and time for attendees to ask questions and share updates. Meeting presentations were part of the research process for the Opportunity Analysis, and can seed inspiration and new partnerships to better support and grow the state’s clean energy workers.

REAP Educator Tyler Katzmar mock-interviews a high school student from the Lower Yukon School District. Photo: Donovan Russionello/REAP

REAP also develops, teaches, and facilitates impactful K-12 energy education and career exploration opportunities. As part of our longstanding AK Energy Smart (AKES) energy efficiency partnership with Alaska Housing Finance Corporation, our team of four educators trains elementary and secondary teachers in how to deliver the AKES place-based energy literacy curriculum, plus teaches more than 5,000 students in classrooms, camps, and community settings annually. REAP also hosts two statewide energy competitions, the Power Pledge Challenge and Clean Energy Olympics. And perhaps most excitingly, we are growing dual-credit secondary education partnerships with the University of Alaska Fairbanks Bristol Bay Campus’s Sustainable Energy Occupational Endorsement program and school districts across the state to increase awareness and opportunity to pursue clean energy career pathways. 

Sources shared ideas for various regional actions to overcome high infrastructure costs, limited training access, and rural recruitment and retention difficulties (p. 30), including:

• Regional utility collaboratives that pool funds, plan projects, and share dedicated staff
• Independent power producers that operate under a regional umbrella with shared supportive staff
• Centralized administrative and bookkeeping services within a region
• Shared service contracts with in-region businesses
• Coordinating preventative maintenance and training with traveling technicians and mechanics among nearby communities

Regional electrical services in Unalaska

In Unalaska, electrical and telecommunications service provider OptimERA has a long-term contract with the city-run local electric utility to provide linemen. The arrangement, which grew out of the city’s persistent challenges recruiting and retaining linemen, allowed OptimERA to offer more attractive rotational schedules and to staff a growing apprenticeship program. “If you want really seasoned, educated people, you have to start somewhere,” said OptimERA Chief Operating Officer Matthew Scott.

Wintertime in Southwestern Alaska’s Lake and Peninsula Borough. Photo: Jenny Starrs/REAP

Encouraging closer communication and collaboration between regional training centers, school districts, unions, trade associations, state agencies, individual instructors, and employers was put forth as the central path to combatting instructor shortages and increasing training access around the state (p. 34). The avenues suggested for fostering these working relationships included:

• Accessible industry advisory groups for input on curriculum and credentials
• Community of practice for educators and industry to share pain points, scope opportunities, and forge connections
• Train-the-trainer industry partnerships to cultivate new part-time instructors
• Industry-sponsored instructor shadows, swaps, or sabbaticals
• Industry instructor directory for short-duration itinerant positions

Train-the-trainer momentum for solar installers 

The University of Alaska Fairbanks’ Bristol Bay Campus (UAF BBC) launched a “train-the-trainer” initiative to boost the number of solar installation training professionals in Alaska in the spring of 2023. By casting a wide net, covering tuition and attendance costs, and offering industry-friendly teaching schedules, the campus regularly offers a 2-credit Solar Electric Design and Installation class taught by its former trainees. “We invested a lot in getting people set up as instructors,” said Chandler Kemp, Assistant Professor of Sustainable Energy at UAF BBC and an energy efficiency consultant.

Instructors and students practice wiring a solar panel during a weeklong solar training in Bethel. Photo: Jacob Ivanoff

Interviewees from both energy businesses and nonprofits pointed to the persistent need to develop a sustainable market for statewide clean energy projects and new ways to finance their operations and maintenance in rural areas (p. 39). Insulating projects from the boom-and-bust cycle of federally available funding and programs, as well as finding new funding for long-term operations and maintenance, were described as key to growing Alaska’s clean energy workforce and infrastructure. Fifteen interviewees discussed this topic, with many focusing on the long-term need to broaden demand and increase market adoption to sustain in-state expertise. The financing ideas mentioned were:

• Rebate and on-bill financing programs
• Revolving loan funds
• Long-term grant programs
• Long-term tax incentives
• Green Bank capitalization

Beneficial electrification rebates in Southeast Alaska

Alaska Heat Smart maintains a list of qualified contractors that work in coastal Southcentral and Southeast Alaska communities as part of its work on Accelerating Clean Energy Savings (ACES), a five-year heat pump rebate program that started in 2024. With applications growing, they received inquiries from HVAC companies and contractors in Anchorage, the Matanuska-Susitna Borough, and even the Pacific Northwest. As of May 2026, their contractor list included more than 30 entities.

A heat pump installed in the Southeast Alaska community of Angoon. Photo: Jenny Starrs/REAP

Twenty-one interviewees identified this as a key challenge (p. 25). Notable reasons include:

• a lack of available comprehensive care and support services like childcare, travel scholarships, and training stipends
• distant or inaccessible training locations
• inadequate training formats
• burdensome eligibility requirements
• the high cost of maintaining training facilities in rural and remote areas
• dearth and distance of instructors availability and location
• unclear career progression opportunities.

The factors emphasized as especially critical were remote training locations and a lack of wraparound or supportive services, like transportation assistance and childcare support.

These barriers are most acute and detrimental to workforce development in Alaska’s rural hub and remote areas, but sources shared stories of urban and statewide impacts as well. Workforce shortages and challenges experienced in more urban areas, like in Interior, Southcentral, and Southeast Alaska, often have direct effects on workforce availability in hub communities and remote villages. But each community and region also has its own unique workforce challenges and contributing factors, tied to its distinctive history, economy, and culture, that aren’t covered by this analysis’s statewide scope.

Identifying challenges and tracing them back to their root causes is important, but only as a step toward finding lasting solutions. Alaska’s communities are full of problem-solvers, and so alongside these gaps, interviewees also shared promising ways to creatively and collaboratively overcome these constraints to support Alaska’s clean energy workers.

Stay tuned for the third installment in this series, where we will dive into those strategies and some of the efforts already underway across the state.

Download the full report now by completing the form at the top of this post.

Applying this definition to 2022–2024 employment data from the 2023–2025 USEERs shows that 46.4% (12,882 jobs) of all direct energy positions in Alaska in 2024 were clean energy roles. This lags significantly behind the national percentage of clean energy jobs in the energy sector, as seen in Figure 1. Alaska’s clean energy share also trails cold-climate and remote or isolated peer states, but is comparable to other fossil-fuel-dependent states. Alaska’s 11.6% clean energy job growth over that time period, however, vastly outpaces most peer states’ clean energy job growth and national clean energy job growth. With approximately 1,330 new jobs in two years, Alaska’s clean energy workforce is growing faster than similar economies, despite starting from a lower base. Maine is the only peer state with a higher growth rate from 2022 to 2024, suggesting that further study and outreach to understand their workforce strategies could be beneficial. More information about the peer state comparison is included in the report’s Introduction (p. 10) and Appendix C (p. 53).

As seen in Figure 2, the largest and fastest-growing clean energy job category in Alaska during this time period was transmission & distribution (T&D), with broad growth in smart grid, microgrid, traditional T&D, and other grid modernization roles. All T&D subcategory jobs were considered clean in this analysis, due to grid infrastructure’s crucial role in renewable energy deployment. It is important to note, however, that T&D positions also support fossil fuel distribution. For more information about the specific job subcategories considered clean in this analysis, check out the Introduction (p. 9) and Appendix C (p. 53). The second largest clean energy job category was energy efficiency, which experienced marked growth in efficient appliance and lighting installation and traditional heating, ventilation, and cooling (HVAC) jobs. Electric power generation positions are the third largest clean energy job category, followed by motor vehicles, storage, and fuel positions, respectively.

Figure 1: Clean Energy Employment Nationally and in Alaska, 2022–2024. Sources: 2023, 2024, and 2025 USEERs

Figure 2: Clean Energy Employment in Alaska by Technology Category, 2022-2024. Sources: 2023, 2024, and 2025 USEERs.

Seniors compete in Native Youth Olympics (Photo: Ana McMenamin)

Each year, S.N.A.P. Meet returns to take over the Newhalen School for a week in April, bringing together students from all over the Lake and Peninsula School District. Newhalen School Principal, Ed Lester, has been a key leader in making this event come together, with the help of other dedicated school district staff. The Newhalen School becomes abuzz with students, school staff, chaperones, and partnering organizations like REAP. Most everyone sleeps on the floor of the school, eating meals together in the gym, moving through activity sessions during the day and cheering on Native Youth Olympics (NYO) each night. 2026 marks the third year in a row that REAP has been invited to participate in the festivities. For more background on the annual gathering and REAP’s prior participation, check out Jenny Starrs’ excellent piece on her 2024 trip.

High schoolers listening to Rob in the INNEC powerhouse. (Photo: Ana McMenamin)

In the spirit of collaboration, Natalie Kiley-Bergen from the Lake & Pen Borough joined REAP at the S.N.A.P. Meet career fair and for a tour of the Newhalen powerplant. Together we led students through hands-on activities demonstrating insulation, heat transfer and solar energy production. For younger students these short interactive lessons foster curiosity about energy sources and saving. But for older students this career fair event exposes them to real world opportunities and pathways beyond high school. “Engagement of students and early career professionals across Alaska in the various avenues that one can take in the energy section is essential to ensuring a vibrant workforce,” Natalie said after the tour. Getting a tour from Rob, the lead operator at the INNEC Powerplant in Newhalen, high school students got to hear about what experience and training it takes to have that job someday. While Newhalen is usually powered by Tazimina Falls hydroelectric project, they have a few diesel generators for back-up when needed, which also have to be serviced by Rob and his team. When asked about workforce development in the region Natalie said, “capable people who have responsibility, are asking who will replace them when they want to move on.” People like Rob want to inspire the next generation of utility employees, which starts with tours like this.

Lake and Peninsula Borough’s Emerging Utility Collaborative

Natalie Kiley-Bergen, the Lake and Peninsula Borough’s Utility Collaborative Manager, and Nathan Hill, the Lake and Peninsula Borough Manager, presented next on their efforts to form a regional collaborative for the 13 electric utilities serving the Borough’s 16 communities. The effort dates back more than a decade, and is getting underway this year thanks to funding provided by the DOE Grid Resilience 40101(d) consortium; support provided by consortium partners Denali Commission, Bristol Bay Native Corporation, Alaska Venture Fund, DeerStone Consulting, and Iguigig Village Council; and a BIA Tribal Energy Development Capacity grant.

The Borough’s role is to provide administrative and project management support for the collaborative, with the goals of:

• Improving reliability;
• Lowering operational and fuel costs;
• Minimizing emergency repairs;
• Facilitating renewable integration; and
• Supporting system longevity through shared service contracts, PCE reporting support, and data management assistance.

They hope to foster relationships with and between utilities, providing a reliable point of contact and a network of support.

By working together, this consortium plans to develop projects that improve community and regional resilience and achieve economies of scale. Eligible projects include microgrid integration and battery storage, generator upgrades (but not new construction), resilience projects, fuel storage upgrades, utility workforce training and maintenance contracts, and building management or SCADA enhancements. The funding extends through 2032, giving the collaborative runway to manage projects and deliver value to the Borough’s utilities. Their eventual goal is to become self-sustaining through utility participation and new funding opportunities, with high hopes for maximizing their impact with best practices and contractor recommendations from around the state.

Kiley-Bergen and Hill shared information about energy prices in the Lake and Peninsula Borough during their presentation, which range from $0.60 to $1.34 per kWh and $3.30 to $9.76 per gallon.

The Borough’s long-term goal is to sustain the collaborative beyond its first infusion of 40101(d) funding.

Dave Messier

DAVE’S CANDIDATE STATEMENT

“The high cost of energy and its impact on Fairbanks businesses and families is what caused me to run for the board 9 years ago. Keeping our utility focused on lowering long term costs is still a top priority I bring to every meeting. That said, as members in a cooperative it is our collective responsibility to ensure that our electrical system is managed and maintained to keep our power reliable and the lights on. Providing reliable electricity requires investment, not just through the rates we all pay but through the willingness of board members to commit their time, energy and experience to help our co-op succeed. I’m running because I have a proven track record of that commitment and I would be honored to have your vote so that I can continue to serve and continue to keep our utility focused on reliably delivering electricity to our members.d accountable to its members.

Reducing energy costs for Alaskans is a special interest for me. Since 2009 I’ve led dozens of renewable energy and energy efficiency projects, installed community scale battery energy storage systems, co-authored federal legislation and presented to the Alaska legislature on energy challenges. As a GVEA Board member I’ve used my knowledge and experience to champion our ongoing large wind and battery energy storage projects as well as the on-bill financing program that GVEA now offers. These efforts are projected to lower our long term electric rates and help make the interior a more affordable place to live and work.”

Phil Wight

PHIL’S CANDIDATE STATEMENT

“We are facing an energy crisis. With residential utility charges jumping 8.37%, the loss of lower-cost gas power and the threat of rolling blackouts, ‘business as usual’ is not working. Costs are rising with intensifying ice storms and forest fires.

GVEA must evolve to meet these serious challenges. Our Cooperative needs renewed Board leadership, persistent innovation, and bold action to secure our grid and save members’ money.

As Chair of GVEA’s Member Advisory Committee, I led a task force which demonstrated how GVEA can improve reliability and reduce bills by investing in member-owners’ homes. As an energy historian, I’ve written a comprehensive history of our grid, “Electrifying the Railbelt,” and testified on Alaska energy issues before the U.S. House. As a policy analyst, I authored successful bipartisan legislation (SB152) to save ratepayer’s money with Community Solar. As a father, I will ensure Fairbanks remains a land of opportunity for our children.

For the past decade, I’ve consulted on home energy projects and helped neighbors install insulation, solar panels, and batteries to lower energy costs. After driving an electric vehicle 4,300 miles to Fairbanks, I’ve helped several friends acquire home chargers and plug-in vehicles. I want my friends and neighbors to have cleaner, cheaper energy options. Beyond energy, I groom and maintain local multi-use trails. I regularly write newspaper op-eds and offer Alaska history presentations at the Tanana-Yukon Historical Society and Alaska Mining Hall of Fame. We have much to learn from our proud history of northern tenacity and bootstrap innovation.”

BOARD EXPERIENCE

• Kenai Borough Resilience & Security Advisory Commission (2025-present)
• Kachemak Nordic Ski Club (2020-25)
• Renewable Energy Alaska Project (REAP) (2014-22)

Peter Crimp

PETER’S MAIN GOALS

1. Deliver reliable and affordable power to HEA ratepayers.
2. Make our power system stronger and more resilient by being open to using diverse energy sources cost-effectively and responsibly.
3. Be transparent and responsive to the ratepayers I represent.

“HEA’s energy picture has changed over the years. Supply of Cook Inlet natural gas to our power plants, which has provided over 85% of our energy for decades, is dwindling. Now we’re making plans to import liquefied natural gas from Outside—along with volatile world markets, rising prices, and less local control.

Meanwhile, the potential for using our other local, abundant energy sources—wind, hydro, and solar—has grown as technologies have advanced and become less expensive. And development continues on other potential resources, such as tidal and geothermal. We’ve already made the wise decision to invest in a large battery system in Soldotna that could help integrate intermittent, zero-fuel-cost wind and solar into the system.

I’m a 44-year resident of Alaska and a former deputy director of Alaska Energy Authority. I’m running for the Homer Electric board because I have a long history in energy planning and project development in Alaska, and I think I can contribute to this cooperative.”

BIO

Peter Crimp is a part-time consultant in energy and natural resource development based out of Homer, Alaska. Representative projects: business plan for Pt Graham’s community biomass heating system currently under construction; forest plan for the Dillingham area Native corporation; and assessment of energy options for the Municipality of Anchorage with Deerstone Consulting. Peter retired from Alaska Energy Authority as deputy director in 2012 after 20 years, where he managed the state’s Renewable Energy Fund grant program and oversaw engineers and planners responsible for alternative energy and energy efficiency development. He began at AEA in 1993 as biomass energy (i.e. wood, fish oil, garbage) program manager. Earlier work was in Fairbanks with DNR Forestry and Dillingham with the Coastal Management program.

Currently Peter serves on the Kenai Peninsula Borough Resiliency & Security Advisory Commission. And earlier on the Kachemak Nordic Ski Club board in Homer as treasurer and/or member from 2020-25, and on the Renewable Energy Alaska Project board of directors 2014-22, including two years as chair. He holds a master’s degree in forestry from University of Washington and a bachelor’s degree at Brown. Peter and his family have run a Bristol Bay setnet and direct market operation since 1988.

WORK EXPERIENCE

• Crimp Energy Consulting (2013-25)
• Alaska Energy Authority (1993-2012)
• Bristol Bay Coastal Resource Service Area (1988-1990)
• Alaska DNR Div. Forestry (1984-88)
• Small Boat Salmon LLC (1988-present)

BOARD EXPERIENCE

• Over 30 years of experience in not-for-profit board governance and board functions.
• Currently, Peninsula Community Health Services of Alaska Inc (PCHS), Soldotna, 2008 – two terms as president, chair of finance & clinical operations committees.
• Current board member of the Kenai Watershed Forum, Kenai Soil and Water Conservation District. Past board seats with Tsalteshi Trails Association, Chair of the AK Society of American Foresters, and SAF national committee service.

Mitchell Michaud

MITCH’S MAIN GOAL

“If elected to represent Homer Electric Association members, my top priority will be increasing transparency in HEA governance and providing clear, accessible information about energy supply, programs, and rates. We all pay for electricity—through HEA bills, rent, or the price of goods and services—and while our energy provider choices are limited, we have a voice through our elected board. I will be that voice.

I will push to diversify HEA’s energy portfolio by reinstating goals that encourage a broader mix of sources, increasing HEA’s ownership in generation, and expanding local renewable projects to create jobs for Alaskans.

We must also plan for the long term. Over the next 20 years, Alaska’s energy mix will change—hydropower, wind, solar, geothermal, and tidal resources are growing nationally and worldwide, lowering costs and reducing dependence on any single source. HEA must move forward with that progress.

Outdated approaches won’t solve today’s or tomorrow’s challenges. Thoughtful planning and forward-looking leadership are essential to ensure reliable, affordable power for HEA members now and in the future.”

WORK EXPERIENCE

Private Consulting Forester Dogon Enterprises

• Provide Forest management and land-use consulting services.
• Advise clients on sustainable harvesting, reforestation, and long-term resource stewardship. Vegetation Manager & Silviculturist (2018) USDA Forest Service – Chugach National Forest
• Led vegetation management, harvest, and silviculture programs.
• Wrote the forest management section for the USFS Chugach Forest Management Plan.
• Coordinated federal reviews and permitting, including Grant Lake Hydroelectric project veg impacts.

State Resource Forester (1999–2015), AK USDA NRCS (1987 – 1998), Maine USDA

• Worked with private landowners to promote sustainable harvesting and reforestation,
• Provided technical guidance on forest productivity and long-term land management,
• Biofuels and wildlife management.

Alaska’s Renewable Energy Engineering Competition

The Clean Energy Olympics is Alaska’s State KidWind Challenge. Young engineers in 4th through 12th grade build model wind turbines and solar-powered homes and compete for a chance to compete in the World KidWind Challenge in Madison, Wisconsin in May. Some students have been working on their designs since fall, others only had a couple weeks in class, but they all showed up to prove their mettle.

Participating teams met with a panel of judges to present their design process and demonstrate their project’s function, tested their design’s energy output, and completed clean energy knowledge test. The Anchorage event also included an Instant Challenge where teams had to solve an engineering puzzle in limited time.

Read further to see the full results from all Clean Energy Olympics events in 2026!

Penny Gage

PENNY’S CANDIDATE STATEMENT

“I am running for the Chugach Electric Association Board of Directors to ensure reliable, affordable power for our members during a pivotal time for our region. As a member-owner, I believe Chugach Electric must remain financially strong and accountable to its members.

Born and raised in Alaska and of Tlingit heritage, I have lived in Anchorage for over 11 years and am raising two young children here with my husband. My career has focused on energy policy, infrastructure investment, and economic development. I have worked in state government, private investment, and nonprofit leadership roles evaluating capital projects and long-term risk. I currently work with utilities, policymakers, and investors to support infrastructure investments and responsibly integrate emerging technologies.

Chugach faces tightening natural gas supply, significant capital investment decisions, and heavy reliance on a single fuel. These realities require disciplined oversight, strong financial stewardship, and pragmatic long-term planning.

If elected, I will focus on:

• Advancing practical near-term gas supply strategies that prioritize reliability and manage costs
• Protecting ratepayers through financial management and transparent governance
• Reducing long-term risk through diversification and cost-effective modernization

Reliable power affects every household and business. I would be honored to earn your vote.”

Rachel Morse

RACHEL’S CANDIDATE STATEMENT

“In my past two terms, I have worked hard to help position Chugach Electric to meet the challenges of gas supply, renewable integration, and responsible rates.

The environment in which Chugach Electric provides reliable, affordable, and responsibly sourced power is evolving. Soon we will be beyond our long-term local gas supply contract, leaning into a Railbelt-wide Integrated Resource Plan, and continuing to balance infrastructure needs with load growth. As a current board member, I possess a strong combination of experience, commitment, and optimism for the important road ahead.

Recent initiatives I have supported include successful management of Beluga River gas field, gas storage and gas exchange agreements, southern transmission line rebuild work, and Alaska’s first community solar project.

Thank you to our members for supporting me and through your engagement, helping me to represent your interests. I would be honored to have your vote for another term.

My priorities are:

• Ensuring we meet natural gas supply needs
• Grid Infrastructure Upgrades and Railbelt-wide planning
• Continued responsible renewable energy integration

All of that while working hard to control costs, maintain reliability, and keep the lowest rates on the Railbelt. Learn more at Facebook.com/Morse4Chugach

Thank you!”

Daniel Jensen

CANDIDATE STATEMENT

“Our cooperative is facing rising electric costs and uncertainty about the long-term stability of our power supply. For too long, MEA and the Railbelt grid have relied heavily on a single supplier to meet generation demand, increasing risk and contributing to upward pressure on rates.

I bring a business-focused skill set to these challenges, grounded in community and Alaska outdoor values. As a Certified Public Accountant making majorinvestment decisions in the energy sector, I have experience in long-termplanning, risk management, and protecting customers from unnecessary ratevolatility and waste. Like any responsible business, MEA should avoidoverreliance on a single resource when prudent alternatives can reduce riskwithout placing undue burdens on members. Tools such as power purchaseagreements can introduce competition, provide price certainty, and deserveserious consideration alongside MEA-owned resources.

Working families are important in MEA’s mission. Rising energy costs disproportionatelyimpact low- and moderate-income families, and affordability goes alongsidereliability. My interest in serving on the MEA Board is rooted in my family andmy commitment to Alaska’s long-term prosperity. I offer a disciplined,independent perspective focused on reliability, affordability, and long-termvalue for MEA’s member-owners. Thank you for your consideration.”

BIO

Daniel Jensen is a Principal of Business Development and Asset Management at Cook Inlet Region, Inc. (CIRI), one of Alaska’s twelve Alaska Native Regional Corporations. In this role Daniel manages CIRI’s diverse portfolio of energy investments, totaling 1,020 megawatts of generation capacity, with 540 megawatts from wind and 480 megawatts from gas, located inside and outside of Alaska. In addition to generation assets, CIRI’s portfolio includes investments in support and supply chain services for energy such as gas storage for Southcentral Alaska, an international offshore wind turbine installation provider, and a publicly traded wood biomass company. Cumulatively, these provide a well-balanced experience through the energy sector, allowing Daniel to take an unbiased view of the financial and operational reality of many energy technologies.

Afterhours, Daniel is active in the community through non-profit service. He is the Treasurer at Anchorage Ski Club, who owns and operates Arctic Valley Ski Area. During his tenure as Treasurer, Daniel has overseen nearly 300% revenue growth and helped transition to a self-sustaining business model. He is also a Board member at REAP at Launch Alaska, a local accelerator program bringing energy, transportation, and industrial technologies to help build resilient, sustainable communities.

Daniel holds an undergraduate and graduate degree in business and accounting, with honors, from Montana State University. He started his professional career at KPMG, an internationally recognized accounting firm, as an auditor. In this position he was able to gain insight into a vast array of companies. After KPMG, he worked at Waste Connections, which owns and operates Alaska Waste, as a District Controller. At Waste Connections, he was able to further his knowledge of regulated utilities, as well as build his business and financial acumen. Daniel holds an active Certified Public Account license through the Alaska State Board of Public Accountancy, as well as a Financial Modeling and Valuation Analyst certificate from the Corporate Finance Institute.

Daniel lives in Eagle River with his wife, Riley, three blocks up the street from the house she was born and raised in. Together they have two young boys, who are fourth-generation Alaskans.

Connie Fredenberg

CANDIDATE STATEMENT

“MEA should develop alternatives to natural gas as a utility or connect with some Independent Power Producers to develop projects. Otherwise, our price for power will continue to steadily increase. Developing generation projects of all types takes time, though. In the meantime, there is a whole lot we as customers can do to conserve the remaining gas now used for heat and power and keep our own costs down.

For many years I’ve been helping both utilities and customers to keep costs down while keeping the lights on in Rural Alaska. I’d like to do the same for my own neighborhood now.”

BIO

Connie was raised in a small Ohio farm town that reminds her a lot of Palmer – except Palmer has better scenery. As a Wildlife Biology student at Ohio State University, Connie chanced upon an unbelievable opportunity to travel from Ohio to Utqiagvik in June of 1978 for a summer job as an Animal Research Intern at the Naval Arctic Research Lab. It changed her life. She went from a struggling student to straight A’s at OSU – until she dropped out and decided to stay in Alaska during her internship the next summer.

When Connie became pregnant with her first child, she and her partner moved from Utqiagvik to Pt. Hope, his family home. Connie loves the Arctic. The Inupiat elevate sharing to a science. Connie learned countless valuable lessons and skills from the people of Pt. Hope and she is honored to still call many her friends and family. Connie gave birth to three children while there and graduated from UAF in 1989 with a degree in Applied Linguistics with minors in education and biology through the old distance delivered X-CED program. She worked as a postal clerk, bilingual aide, elementary teacher, magistrate, and agent for bush airlines over the next ten years.

In 1993 Connie’s life circumstances changed. She left the Arctic and returned to her roots and took a job as Farm Manager at the Palmer Musk Ox Farm. After 3 years she built her own house on land she bought at the far end of the Farm and moved on to other work that was easier on her body. Connie’s children grew up, she gained seven grandchildren and one great grandchild, and she keeps enough animals on her own little farm to satisfy her need for caretaking. She raises chickens, pigs, and a big garden every year now. She loves making sauerkraut and jarring fish – and sharing the bounty. Connie looks forward to sewing again now that she is retired.

For over 20 years Connie worked with Rural independent community owned non-regulated electric utilities –installing pre-pay electric meters, teaching conservation strategies, providing and teaching utility management, rate setting and reporting for the Power Cost Equalization program. The cost and headache of importing fuel to remote communities is agonizing. Connie has helped several communities through the first steps of developing a local renewable energy resource, including resource and environmental assessments and successful grant applications.

As a community educator for more than 15 years, I believe stewardship is more than a lesson—it is a way of being. It is a responsibility to our place, to one another, and to future generations.

That belief was shaped by mentors, like Clay Good, who saw potential in me before I saw it in myself. As my high school oceanography teacher—and later as the Regional Energy Catalyst with the Sustainable Southeast Partnership (SSP) and Renewable Energy Alaska Project (REAP)—Good modeled curiosity, integrity, and deep respect for our coastal ecosystems. When I returned to Juneau to begin my career as a Science, Technology, Engineering, and Math (STEM) educator, he stood beside me with guidance and encouragement. As I considered new professional directions, his steady mentorship gave me the confidence to step into leadership and imagine broader possibilities for community-based education.

When Mr. Good retired in 2025, I stepped up to take on those same responsibilities as the next Regional Energy Catalyst. Today, my work reflects the values he modeled: humility, reciprocity, and community-centered leadership. I strive to create for youth the same kind of spaces he created for me—where students feel seen, challenged, and empowered to pursue futures they may not yet envision for themselves or for their communities.