Hydropower comes in many forms, though most people still associate it with big dams. In the heyday of dam building, projects like Grand Coulee Dam and Boulder Dam in the American West were monumental efforts. These were some of the most ambitious and costly construction projects ever undertaken. Back then, we didn’t fully understand how dams could disrupt ecosystems—blocking fish passage, altering sediment flow, and changing entire river systems. But now we do, and as a result, large dams have fallen out of favor in many places. And where the U.S. was once the leader in large scale hydropower, we’re now removing more dams than we’re building. Today, the biggest obstacles to constructing new hydroelectric projects in the U.S. aren’t just environmental—they’re economic and regulatory. Escalating construction costs and complex permitting processes have significantly slowed the pace of development. But hydropower is a very site-specific technology—and there are plenty of ways to make it more environmentally friendly. In Alaska, for example, we have dozens of what are called “run-of-river” hydro systems. These projects harness the natural flow of water to generate electricity, often without the need for large dams or reservoirs—and without blocking fish passage, which is a big deal in a state where salmon are central to both ecosystems and communities. Closing the Gap is hosted by Gwen Holdmann and edited by Jennifer Pemberton. This episode was produced by Tony Williams. Music is from Blue Dot Sessions.
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26:39
15. Concentrated Solar Power...Can Save the World?
We started our series on solar energy at a small scale. This time, we are going big. The Al Kharsaah Solar Plant in Qatar is one of the largest solar farms in the world—capable, at least in theory, of producing enough power to meet the entire demand of the Railbelt electrical grid in Alaska, which serves about half a million residents. But even though Al Kharsaah is large, it’s far from the largest. When Gwen was there last year, it was in the top 20 largest projects in the world. Today, it doesn’t even make the top 30 anymore. In this episode, we’re going to take a closer look at solar at scale—exploring the limits to scaling up this seemingly unlimited energy source, and the innovations underway today that could define what the solar industry looks like in the future - both in solar photovoltaics like in Qatar, as well as concentrating solar thermal. Closing the Gap is hosted by Gwen Holdmann and edited by Jennifer Pemberton. This episode was produced by Liz Smith and Tony Williams. Music is from Blue Dot Sessions.
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30:49
14. Balcony Solar
This is the first episode in a series about solar energy, and we're starting really small. In Germany, Gwen learned about these compact personal solar kits you can install yourself -- right out of the box. There, they call it balkonkraftwerk, or balcony solar. Of course she had to buy one when she got back from Europe and try it out on her roof in Fairbanks. But is the grid ready for this kind of DIY power generation? Closing the Gap is hosted by Gwen Holdmann and edited by Jennifer Pemberton. This episode was produced by Liz Smith. Music is from Blue Dot Sessions.
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29:40
13. The Heat Beneath Our Feet
You don’t need super high temperatures to harness geothermal energy. Under the right circumstances, a much smaller thermal gradient can be used as well. If we start digging, we’re guaranteed to find heat. It’s getting that heat to the surface where we can use it without spending more energy than we can actually get out of it -- that's the tricky part. We visit South Africa, Denmark, and upstate New York to learn about the not-so-hot geothermal resource that's beneath our feet all over the world. Closing the Gap is hosted by Gwen Holdmann and edited by Jennifer Pemberton. This episode was produced by Liz Smith. Music is from Blue Dot Sessions.
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24:29
12. Touching Magma
A look at the extreme edges of geothermal energy. We'll start with the super hot -- actual liquid magma -- chatting with a couple of visionary Icelanders that have some big ideas about the future of geothermal. Closing the Gap is hosted by Gwen Holdmann and edited by Jennifer Pemberton. This episode was produced by Tony Williams. Music is from Blue Dot Sessions.
Join host Gwen Holdmann for Closing the Gap: stories from the front lines of the global energy transition, from our front row seat from right here in Alaska.
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