School of Energy Resources Represents Regional Partnerships at Global Assembly

Published October 26, 2023
By Christine Reed

Tara Righetti, the Occidental Chair in Energy and Environmental Policies and a professor of law, represented the School of Energy Resources (SER) at the Arctic Circle Assembly, Oct. 19-21 in Reykjavik, Iceland alongside SER Director of Outreach Christine Reed.

Righetti and Reed appeared with INL-led Emerging Energy Markets Analysis (EMA) initiative in a panel discussion focused on work conducted as part of the INL Frontiers Initiative, which is enabling global competition in low-emission industries, including the resulting impact on Arctic strategies and security.

The topics discussed at the assembly align well with EMA’s role to help entities transition to low emission-based energy strategies, plus products and services to increase U.S competitiveness in regional and global markets. EMA provides information about integrated capabilities for the Frontiers Initiative, which works with stakeholders in nuclear first-mover states – Alaska, Wyoming, Idaho and Utah – to secure U.S. leadership in the new economic frontier.

The assembly’s panels were selected from more than 280 submissions in 27 countries and reflect a multidisciplinary approach to accelerate clean energy by addressing resiliency, community needs and social acceptance.

The panel titled “Opening New Arctic Frontiers in Low-Carbon Economic Development” highlighted the latest innovations in clean energy and how these technologies can drive economic growth in the Arctic. It was organized by EMA’s Christi Bell, associate vice chancellor and executive director of the University of Alaska Anchorage Business Enterprise Institute, and was moderated by Kathleen Araujo, professor of sustainable energy systems, innovation, and policy, and director of the Energy Policy Institute at Boise State University. The panel also included Richelle Johnson, lead analyst for the Center for Economic Development at the University of Alaska Anchorage and Cassie Koerner, assistant director of the Energy Policy Institute at Boise State University.

The panel discussed the importance of engaging with local communities, strategies for disseminating information and educational resources, and the importance of regional partnerships and collaborations to share information and lessons learned in order to accelerate the deployment of low-carbon technologies.

“Although Wyoming is not in the Arctic, the US is an arctic nation, and the work we are doing at UW is extremely relevant to arctic communities,” says Righetti. “Likewise, there are many lessons to be learned from those communities that can be applied to our research and decarbonization efforts. Addressing issues related to climate, energy, and economic development in the arctic will require regional and collaborative partnerships. We had a very productive dialogue and made some great connections for future partnerships on projects.”

A recurring topic of discussion was the innovative technology developed by Icelandic company Carbfix to store and mineralize CO₂ in underground basalt formations and their partnership with SER to utilize the technology in a US-based project led by SER.

“SER’s Phase II CarbonSAFE project was frequently mentioned throughout the assembly in many of the panels and presentations — including a plenary address from the Department of Energy’s Assistant Secretary of Energy for International Affairs, Andrew Light,” says Reed. “It is a great example of how there are already strong connections with arctic technology developers to make this a collaborative, global effort.”

The Arctic Circle Assembly is an international gathering representing eight countries: Norway, Sweden, Finland, Russia, U.S. (Alaska), Canada, Denmark (Greenland) and Iceland.

^{Pictured: Christine Reed, Tara Righetti, Cassie Koerner, Richelle Johnson, and Kathy
Araujo}