For more than five years, the Fairbanks Climate Action Coalition, an Alaska-based volunteer-led climate education and advocacy group, has urged Golden Valley Electric’s customers to push the electric co-op to transition to renewable energy. Alaska, burdened by huge oil and gas operations, is heavily impacted by climate change, which especially harms Indigenous communities. Coal has been the dominant energy source in Alaska’s Interior since the Alaska Railroad completed a track through the region in 1923. But that’s changing quickly as other reliable but lower-carbon energy sources become available! “This is not only the single largest coal plant in the state of Alaska; it’s the biggest closure, so this is a watershed moment,” said Philip Wight, a professor specializing in Arctic energy history at the University of Alaska Fairbanks. The shuttering of the plant and the decision to invest in renewable energy represents a new direction for the future of Alaska energy. https://nexusmedianews.com/top_story/alaska-renewable-electricity-on-the-rise/ https://www.popsci.com/environment/coal-plant-closes-alaska/