Richardson Electronics to Deploy 18 Battery Systems Across Seven Remote Alaska Communities
Richardson Electronics will deliver 18 customized battery energy storage systems totaling 7 MWh across seven remote Alaska communities, with completion expected by the end of 2027.
Published · 3 min read
Richardson Electronics announced August 20, 2026, that it will deliver 18 customized battery energy storage systems across seven remote communities in Alaska, adding storage designed specifically for isolated power systems operating in extreme conditions. The Richardson Electronics Alaska battery storage deployment is intended to improve power reliability and resilience in communities where challenging weather and remote locations make energy infrastructure particularly demanding.
The 18 systems will provide a combined 7 MWh of storage capacity, and Richardson expects the multi-million-dollar deployment to be completed by the end of 2027. The company has not identified the seven communities or disclosed individual system capacities, saying each installation will instead be engineered around the energy requirements of its respective community.
The batteries are being customized for remote Alaska conditions
Richardson Electronics said in its August 20 announcement that it developed the systems with technology partners to operate in Alaska’s extreme temperatures and challenging climate.
Rather than deploying one standardized battery configuration at every location, Richardson said each system will be engineered around local energy requirements, with emphasis on performance and reliability in demanding environmental conditions.
The company did not disclose the battery chemistry, power ratings, technology partners or the specific generation resources that will operate alongside the batteries. Those details will be important in determining how the systems function within individual community power networks.
Energy storage can address a distinctive remote-grid challenge
Remote Alaska communities present a different energy-storage use case from large batteries connected to continental transmission networks. Many operate isolated local grids and historically have depended heavily on diesel generation, making reliability, fuel logistics and integration of locally available renewable resources important considerations.
The U.S. Department of Energy has identified Alaska as a major focus of its work on isolated microgrids, noting that remote communities have been important test beds for integrating renewable generation, energy storage and advanced controls.
Battery systems can provide several functions in these environments. Depending on their configuration, they can absorb excess renewable generation, respond rapidly to load changes, reduce generator cycling and provide short-duration operating reserves.
Those capabilities do not eliminate the need for firm generation. Their value depends on each community’s generation mix, electricity demand, renewable resources and operating strategy.
Alaska already has several models for battery-supported microgrids
The new Richardson Electronics Alaska battery storage deployment joins a broader history of battery integration in isolated Alaska power systems.
DOE has documented remote microgrid projects across the state, including systems in communities such as Cordova, Kodiak and Kotzebue. The agency has also supported newer solar-and-battery initiatives intended to reduce dependence on imported fuel.
One example is New Stuyahok, where the Alaska Village Electric Cooperative has pursued a DOE-supported project combining a 500 kW solar array, 540 kWh battery system and microgrid controller for remote Indigenous communities.
DOE has similarly documented plans for high-penetration solar and battery storage in Noatak as part of efforts to reduce fuel consumption and strengthen local energy resilience.
The deployment expands Richardson’s storage business
The Alaska program also represents a commercial expansion for Richardson Electronics’ Green Energy Solutions business.
The company develops engineered power-management products and recently expanded its Richardson Energy Storage Systems portfolio. Richardson describes its Green Energy Solutions group as combining engineering, manufacturing, systems integration and technology partnerships to address storage and other power-management applications.
Richardson’s energy-storage business is part of a broader company that manufactures more than half of its products at facilities in Illinois, Massachusetts and Germany or through manufacturing partners.
The Alaska announcement does not identify the customer or customers financing or procuring the systems, and Richardson has characterized the overall contract only as a multi-million-dollar program.
What happens next
Richardson expects all 18 systems to be deployed by the end of 2027. Before then, additional information could clarify which communities are participating, how the 7 MWh of capacity is distributed among the sites and what generation resources the batteries will support.
The project will be particularly relevant to the remote-microgrid sector if the installations demonstrate repeatable approaches for operating batteries under Alaska’s combination of isolated grids, extreme temperatures and community-specific power requirements.
Jonas Muthoni is Editor-in-Chief of Microgrid Media, where he oversees reporting and analysis on microgrids, energy storage, distributed energy resources, data center power demand, grid modernization, resilience, renewable energy, and electricity policy and markets. His work focuses on the infrastructure, technologies, and regulatory developments reshaping the power system.
As Editor-in-Chief, Jonas leads Microgrid Media’s editorial strategy and standards, including story selection, source verification, technical accuracy, and the development of original reporting and analysis. His coverage draws on regulatory filings, government records, utility and company disclosures, technical documentation, and independent industry sources to explain significant developments across the evolving energy system.
