Envisioning the Future of Energy in Alaska

Our future leaders need to have an understanding of the Energy landscape in order to provide their communities with a bright horizon. This is why energy in Alaska is a frequent topic for T3 Alaska. During the semester, Mount Edgecumbe High School students recently toured the Blue Lake Dam alongside a group of visiting scientists. They learned about the dam’s construction, visited the turbine room, and saw the monitors that track Sitka’s power usage. The dam supplies about 60% of Sitka’s energy—pretty impressive!

A few weeks earlier, MEHS students met with Bri Gabel from the City of Sitka to play an energy planning game developed by the city. The game explores possible scenarios for Sitka’s energy future. Students played through different options and gave feedback that will help guide the city’s planning—alongside input from other community members.

In just a few short weeks, T3 Alaska students will continue their energy education at T3 Alaska’s Summer Program: Energy Leadership and Digital Storytelling. This program encourages students to investigate the current energy landscape in their communities and collaborate with industry leaders to explore what the future of energy might look like across Alaska. Their youth perspectives are shaping what Alaska’s energy landscape could look like in 50 years and helping build local capacity to support those decisions.

As part of the program, students will spend three days at the Alaska Sustainable Energy Conference in Anchorage. They will discover, explore, and document their perspectives on energy through digital storytelling—creating a narrative to share their vision for Alaska’s energy future with their communities.