Andrew Mcdonnell, Phd Email & Phone Number

I am focused on developing clean, sustainable, and cost-reducing renewable energy projects for Alaska. Guided by the calls for renewable energy solutions from our communities, utilities, and businesses, we aim to deploy locally sensible renewable energy projects and supporting technologies that are tailored to Alaska's needs and that aim return multiple benefits to the communities we serve. Drawing on a background in Earth and environmental science, engineering, and energy systems analysis, I lead the origination and ongoing development of the company's utility scale wind energy projects, engage with local communities, and help shape the company's strategic business development. In my prior role as an Assistant and Associate Professor at the University of Alaska Fairbanks (UAF), I managed a broad research, teaching, and service portfolio focused on Earth’s changing ocean, climate, and biogeochemical systems. Through years of service to community organizations and electric utilities, my interests, research, and work gradually pivoted towards identifying and deploying solutions to address the energy, environmental, and economic challenges facing Alaska. I served on Golden Valley Electric Association's Member Advisory Committee, Carbon Reduction Goal Committee, and Solar Committee, the last of which resulted in the construction of GVEA’s 563kW solar PV system. Always testing and innovating, my own home is also a working laboratory for electrification and demand side management technologies in the far North. Prior to founding Alaska Renewables, I also worked as an independent consultant helping to identify cost effective decarbonization strategies and renewable energy opportunities across Alaska. I earned a B.S. in Chemical Engineering from UCLA and a Ph.D. in Chemical Oceanography from the MIT/Woods Hole Oceanographic Institution Joint Program in Oceanography/Applied Ocean Science and Engineering.