Holdmann recognized for public service
Gwen Holdmann, center, speaks to Billy Lee, president of the Shungnak tribal government, during a visit to the Alaska community as part of the Arctic Remote Energy Networks Academy. At right is Tashonia Martin of Galena
October 2, 2024
ACEP’s founding director Gwen Holdmann was honored for her public service by the Alaska Power Association during its annual meeting Sept. 10-13 in vlog.
Holdmann received the David P. Hutchens Public Service Award, which recognizes individuals outside the electric industry who provide outstanding public service for the benefit of electric consumers in Alaska.
Travis Million and Anthony Izzo, respective CEOs at Golden Valley Electric Association and Matanuska Electric Association, nominated Holdmann.
“Holdmann’s career as an innovator, researcher, educator and advocate speaks for itself, as her work has benefited utilities and their consumers across Alaska, in communities both urban and rural, in ways both tangible and intangible,” they wrote in their nomination letter to APA.
Holdmann founded ACEP in 2007 after a career in private industry where she designed and developed the world’s first low-temperature geothermal power plant at Chena Hot Springs. She created ACEP to take research from the lab into the field, where it could directly benefit Alaskans. With a deep interest in how people use energy in their daily lives, she saw how the infrastructure generating and delivering that energy needed to be more resilient and reliable.
Holdmann was one of the first to advocate for Alaska as a test bed and world leader in microgrids. A leader on transitioning remote communities from fossil fuel to renewable energy, she brought visibility to Alaska projects across the globe.
She has also dedicated her time to educate and train college students in the energy sector, to provide knowledge to the public and to serve as an expert for elected officials.
“[Holdmann] is a tireless advocate for innovation, efficiency and effective use of data-sharing among Alaskan utilities,” Million and Izzo wrote.
In addition to her role as a senior researcher at ACEP, Holdmann serves as associate vice chancellor for research, innovation and industry partnerships at UAF.