Sustainable North

By CCHRC Staff home life. ASK A BUILDER Q: Is there anything I need to be cautious about when plugging in my automobile?Q: I’ve seen that there are now roof shingles that are solar panels.While a wide range of solar technologies work in Alaska and other cold climates, photovoltaic roof shingles are still too new [...]

[Read more →]

From The Associated Press, Tuesday, January 26, 2010: The U.S. Department of Energy is adding Alaska to its Winds for Schools program. The national grant program offers hands-on science education studying wind energy to children and college students. Click here to read the full story.

[Read more →]

From The Fairbanks Daily News-Miner, Tuesday, January 19, 2010: The University Police Department is about to acquire a new high-tech gadget that’s more notable for what it won’t do than what it will. The modified 2002 Suzuki Eiger four-wheeler won’t use any gasoline. It won’t create any emissions. And except for the sound of tires [...]

[Read more →]

From Alaska Dispatch, Monday, January 11, 2010: Far out on the Aleutian chain, on windy Adak Island, a world-class Nautilus gym sits dark and cold because the city of Adak can’t afford the electricity to light and heat it. The gym is an artifact left over from when the island was a naval base, home [...]

[Read more →]

Learn how to do or direct your own energy efficient improvements. Attend an informative workshop FREE TO THE PUBLIC! Workshops are brought to you by Alaska Housing Finance Corporation. The following workshops will be held from 6-8 pm at the Cold Climate Housing Research Center, 1000 Fairbanks Street, near West Valley High School and the [...]

[Read more →]

From The Tundra Drums, Monday, December 21, 2009: Two Western Alaska villages spinning power from small wind turbines say they’re saving thousands of dollars a year. “I’m still amazed at what they’re doing,” said Gerald Kosbruk, president of the tribal government in Perryville on the southern Alaska Peninsula. However, the head of the largest utility [...]

[Read more →]

From the New York Times, Friday, December 25, 2009; Some of the greenest technologies of the age, from electric cars to efficient light bulbs to very large wind turbines, are made possible by an unusual group of elements called rare earths. The world’s dependence on these substances is rising fast. Just one problem: These elements [...]

[Read more →]

ASK A BUILDER By CCHRC Staff The “Ask a Builder” series is dedicated to answering some of the many questions Fairbanks residents have about building, energy and the many other parts of home life. Q: Refrigerators are expensive to operate. How can I make sure mine is using less energy? In terms of energy efficiency, [...]

[Read more →]

ASK A BUILDER By Cold Climate Housing Research Center Staff The “Ask a Builder” series is dedicated to answering some of the many questions Fairbanks residents have about building, energy and the many other parts of home life. Q: I have a wood stove. Can I burn coal in it, too? A: Unless a wood [...]

[Read more →]

From Peninsula Clarion, Tuesday, November 24, 2009: Kenai is doing more than any other city in the state in terms of encouraging wind turbine development within city limits, a leader in Alaska wind energy installation said. On Nov. 4, the Kenai City Council passed an ordinance establishing the rules for building generators in the city. [...]

[Read more →]