As the world grows ever more conscious of its relationship with nature and continues to transition towards cleaner energy sources, so too does our need to be aware of the complexities surrounding their implementation. Through expert insight and real-world examples, this webinar seeks to navigate the challenges and opportunities inherent in renewable energy development. Exploring the socio-economic impacts that renewable energy infrastructure production may pose, as well as best practices in fostering meaningful engagement with affected communities – ensuring informed consent, sharing of responsibilities, and value generation to the greatest extent possible. Join us in this dialogue as we seek to strike a balance between progress and responsibility in our strive towards a sustainable future.
Moderator:
Aaron Cooke – Architect/Researcher/Strategic Partnerships Lead at NREL's Alaska Campus
Speakers:
Bios
Aaron Cooke is a licensed architect and project manager at the National Renewable Energy Lab (NREL)'s Alaska Campus in Fairbanks. He manages the Sustainable Northern Communities Program, which designs and deploys emerging building technologies and approaches in the Arctic and Subarctic. Cooke's work primarily focuses on durable, affordable, healthy, and sustainable building design in extreme climates and remote locations. He works with architects, builders, technicians, local leaders, and Tribes to design, build, and monitor innovative buildings across the circumpolar north.
Javier Arnaut is Associate Professor and Head of Department of Arctic Social Science & Economics at the University of Greenland. He specializes in environmental economics and in the long-run development of emerging regions and the Arctic. He devotes special attention to the environmental consequences of growth in the Arctic.
Karen Mist Kristjánsdóttir is a bioprocess engineer, educated at the Engineering University of Aarhus, Denmark. She is a project manager at Eimur, where she leads several initiatives aimed at sustainability and resource efficiency. Her projects include the development of an Eco-industrial park outside Húsavík, a methane plant at Dysnes in Eyjafjörður, and collaborative wastewater treatment projects with various industries. A common goal across these projects is the utilization of waste that would otherwise be discarded.
Margaret Mahon is a Senior Energy Management Specialist and the Operation Manager at the Arctic Energy Alliance, a non-profit in the Northwest Territories in Canada, where she has worked for the last 16 years. She has been involved in conducting energy audits for community and commercial buildings, community energy planning, managing energy efficiency and renewable energy implementation projects for clients, and developing rebate programs and energy literacy initiatives. She is a Professional Engineer and has an MSc in Sustainable Energy Engineering from The Royal Institute of Technology in Stokholm.
