Alaska's electricity prices average slightly less than $0.23/kWh, well above the national average of $0.14/kWh. and some of the highest electricity prices in the US. The figure is skewed because prices Alaska's rural areas can be up to five times higher than urban rates. Often the state provides financial assistance to help cover power costs in rural communities.
Alaska is the largest state in the US, with 1/5 the surface area of the contiguous, or "Lower 48" states. Thanks to the Aleutian Islands Alaska as wide from East to West as the contiguous US. Much of the state remains largely uninhabited, with just under half of all Alaskans living in Anchorage, Juneau, and Fairbanks. The rest of the state averages a population density of less than one resident per square mile.
Does Solar Power Work in Alaska?
One could easily be forgiven for assuming that with Alaska's high latitudes and long winter nights, solar is not very prominent here. However, with an abundance of remote off-grid structures, solar power has come to play a vital role in life in the taiga and tundra. Solar thermal technologies are particularly popular. As solar technology rapidly improves photovoltaic panels get less expensive and more efficient, and inverters and micro-inverters get more sophisticated. All things considered, it's no surprise that rooftop off-grid and grid-tie solar has been growing rapidly in recent years. Recently Alaska's PV energy generated by residential solar overtook commercial solar generation and the Alaska Center for Energy and Power (ACEP) at the University of Alaska Fairbanks (UAF) began building a more detailed database of solar installations in the state.
Cost of a Solar Install
The average cost of a 5kW (equivalent to saving almost 100 trees a year) solar power system starts around $10,000 in Alaska. That system would pay for itself through energy savings within 6-7.5 years. System life can span well over 25 years, and savings will improve with inflation. Because rural energy prices are so high, solar can be a little less efficient than in the Lower 48 and still prove incredibly profitable outside of Alaska's metropolitan areas.
