Closing the Gap with Gwen Holdmann | Energy Transition Stories

Hosted by Gwen Holdmann | Alaska Center for Energy and Power

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Feb 2026

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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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February 24, 2026Episode 1128 min

Coal-Powered Energy Research at the University of Alaska Fairbanks

In Fairbanks, four trainloads of coal arrive every day to power and heat the University of Alaska campus that's known for its cutting-edge research on integrating renewable energy technologies. Building a brand new coal-fired power plant in the 21st century was, to put it mildly, a controversial decision. But believe me when I tell you—we researched the heck out of it. Today on the show, I'll walk you through the backstory of how, when it came time to replace our campus power plant, we ticked through all our options and ended up with the newest coal plant in the country — and, some would argue, possibly the last. People: Brian Rogers, former University of Alaska Fairbanks Chancellor; Matt Titus, University of Alaska Fairbanks Utility Services Places: University of Alaska Fairbanks Technology/Concepts: utilidor, coal-fired power plant Closing the Gap is hosted by Gwen Holdmann. Tony Williams is our producer and engineer. Jennifer Pemberton is our writer and editor. Music is from Blue Dot Sessions. News story from the ribbon cutting ceremony of the new UAF coal plant by Ravenna Koenig, Alaska's Energy Desk

December 20, 2025Episode 1027 min

The Last Coal Mine in Svalbard

Norway is determined to move away from coal and other fossil fuels entirely, but the town of Longyearbyen in the Arctic outpost of Svalbard is literally built around coal and has identified strongly as a coal town for more than 100 years. This year, the last coal mine in Longyearbyen shut down — not because they ran out of coal, but because the country is deeply committed to trying something else, even if they haven't totally figured out what that something else is yet. People: Anders Jorgensen, tour guide for Store Norske; Mons Ole Sellevold, Renewable Energy Project Manager for Store Norske Places: Longyearbyen, Svalbard, Norway Technology/Concepts: coal mining, energy transition, remote microgrid, global seed vault Closing the Gap is hosted by Gwen Holdmann. Tony Williams is our producer and engineer. Jennifer Pemberton is our writer and editor. Music is from Blue Dot Sessions. Listen to Roger Manndal's Store Norske song.

October 29, 2025Episode 924 min

Passive Cooling

On this podcast, we spend a lot of time talking about electricity — how to generate it, store it, and use less of it. But the truth is, the bigger share of our energy use often goes to heating and cooling — the invisible comfort systems that keep us alive in the places we choose to live. Humans are unusual that way. Most species adapt to their environment. We do the opposite — we adapt the environment to suit us. It's how we survive in deserts and tundra, in glass towers and remote villages. Today on the show, we're talking about passive cooling. We bring you three stories of designs that take advantage of natural temperature differences instead of using up a bunch of energy just to make something cold. People: Cloud Tsuma, guide with Sunway Safaris Places: South Africa; Doha, Qatar; Paris, France Technology/Concepts: passive cooling, termite mounds, qanat, outdoor air conditioning, evaporative cooling, district cooling Closing the Gap is hosted by Gwen Holdmann. Tony Williams is our producer and engineer. Jennifer Pemberton is our writer and editor. Music is from Blue Dot Sessions.

October 6, 2025Episode 825 min

Trash is Treasure: Waste-to-Energy

Waste-to-energy systems kill two birds with one stone: they deal with garbage and produce power at the same time. Copenhill in Denmark has been called the coolest power plant in the world, and it's hard to argue with that. It's a place where you can ski down the roof, climb up the side, and then grab coffee under the smokestack — all while the building generates heat and energy for the city. At least one Alaskan community thinks Copenhagen might hold the answer for its energy and waste problems — and that's exactly where this episode takes us. People: Jannik Koppel, Project Manager at ARC - Amager Bakke; Kelli Toth, Director of Solid Waste Services for the Municipality of Anchorage; Mark Spafford, Anchorage Deputy City Manager Places: Copenhagen, Denmark; Anchorage, Alaska Technology/Concepts: waste-to-energy, waste incinerator generator, solid waste recycling Closing the Gap is hosted by Gwen Holdmann. Tony Williams is our producer and engineer. Jennifer Pemberton is our writer and editor. Music is from Blue Dot Sessions.

August 20, 202517 min

A Nuclear Reactor for Alaska's F-35s

The multi-million dollar fighter jets that roar over the local tennis court where I coach the high school team is a daily reminder that Fairbanks is home to one of the most strategically important Air Force bases in the world. And now, Eielson Air Force Base is about to make history on a very different front — testing a first-of-its-kind nuclear microreactor. People: Colonel Michael Mullin, Deputy Wing Commander, Eielson Air Force Base; Nancy Balkus, Deputy Assistant Secretary of the Air Force for Infrastructure, Energy and Environment Places: Fairbanks, Alaska; Eielson Air Force Base Technology/Concepts: nuclear microreactor, small modular nuclear power, Arctic security, cold weather combat training Closing the Gap is hosted by Gwen Holdmann, edited by Jennifer Pemberton, and produced by Tony Williams.

August 8, 202522 min

Nuclear Energy 2.0 is (Still) Upon Us

Back in 2019, Congress directed the Department of Defense to find a site and pilot a small nuclear reactor to enhance energy resilience at military installations. That site is Eielson Air Force Base near Fairbanks, Alaska. Recently the Air Force named a developer for the reactor, so we're revisiting the story we told back in Episode 5. In future episodes you'll hear directly from the key people moving the project forward—both the technical lead for the Air Force and the senior commander guiding its integration on the ground. For now, we're sharing episode 5 with you as a refresher.

July 19, 2025Episode 729 min

Harnessing the Maelstrom: Tidal Energy

Water is 800 times denser than air and when large volumes start moving in a single direction with force and purpose, it becomes virtually unstoppable. And that force represents an opportunity to harness the power of water in a way that's different from conventional hydropower. Instead of relying on elevation and gravity, we can capture energy directly from the flow itself. Afterall, the tides are pulled by the moon, creating a rhythm that has been in motion since long before fossil fuels were even imaginable. It's not just renewable—it's perpetual. Today on the show -- tidal energy in many different forms. People: Jeremy Kasper, Director - Alaska Center for Energy and Power; Ben Loeffler, Alaska Center for Energy and Power; Stephanie Jump, Alaska Center for Energy and Power; Places: Saltstraumen, Norway; Tanana River Hydrokinetic Test Site, Alaska Technology/Concepts: tidal power generation, tidal barrage, hydrokinetic, in-river hydro, blade runner turbine Closing the Gap is hosted by Gwen Holdmann. Jennifer Pemberton is our editor. Liz Smith and Tony Williams produced this episode. Music is from Bluedot Sessions. Special thanks to David Lane at Neuralsurfer, who let us use his wonderful recording of Edgar Allen Poe's "A Descent Into The Maelstrom".

June 22, 2025Episode 626 min

Big Dam, Little Dam: Meet the New Hydropower

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. But back then, we didn't fully understand how dams could disrupt ecosystems; 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. But hydropower is a very site-specific technology—and there are plenty of ways to make it more environmentally friendly. People: Philip Wight, Associate Professor of History and Arctic & Northern Studies, University of Alaska Fairbanks; Clay Koplin, CEO Cordova Electric Cooperative Places: Panama Canal; Cordova, Alaska Technology/Concepts: hydropower, hydroelectric power plant, dams of the American West, run-of-river hydroelectric, inflatable dam 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.

June 13, 2025Episode 530 min

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. 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. People: Puskar Thapaliya Places: Al Kharsaah Solar Plant, Qatar; Ivanpah Solar Electric Generating System, California Technology/Concepts: Concentrated Solar Power, Project Hail Mary 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.

April 29, 2025Episode 429 min

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? People: Mariana Low, Alaska Center for Energy and Power; Dan McIntosh, Golden Valley Electric Association Places: Germany; Fairbanks, Alaska Technology/Concepts: Origins of solar panels, photovoltaics, Solar One house, balcony solar, plug-in solar 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.