The diesel engines on Kodiak island are sitting idle nowadays. They used to generate the electricity for most of the island’s 15,000 residents, but wind power has been taking over. Because of that, the Alaskan island is now powered almost 100% with renewable energy, a success story for the second largest island in the United States. It has to be said that the island was already relying heavily on hydropower (power derived from the energy of falling or running water) for 80% for a longer period of time, but rural communities were still relying on imported diesel for their electricity. Kodiak Electric Association set a goal of producing 95 percent of the community’s electrical needs with renewable energy by 2020. They actually arrived there well ahead of time, and are now 99.7 percent renewably powered by wind and hydro. A bonus for the people of Kodiak: Electricity rates have gone down, and are now 2.5 percent lower than in 2001.
No diesel engines anymore, this Alaskan island is now powered by 100% renewable energy
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