DOE funding for AK rural energy efficiency

The U.S. Department of Energy is making available $4 million in funding to assist with rural Alaska energy efficiency initiatives, under an energy efficiency competition for small Alaska communities. The DOE sponsored competition, called the Remote Alaska Communities Energy Efficiency Competition, forms part of President Obama’s commitment to fight climate change and assist remote Alaskan communities, DOE says.

The Alaska Energy Authority is assisting DOE with community outreach in support of the initiative.

“Energy efficiency is the most effective way of reducing energy costs, especially in high-cost rural Alaska communities,” said Sara Fisher-Goad, AEA executive director, in a Jan. 6 press release. “This collaboration with DOE allows AEA to use our experience working with rural Alaska communities to provide reliable, affordable and efficient power to Alaskans.”

Under the terms of the DOE competition, rural Alaska communities can become “community energy champions” by pledging to reduce energy use by at least 15 percent, with pledges due by Jan. 26, AEA says. Communities that have made the pledge become eligible to compete for technical assistance and to apply for grants for energy efficiency projects.

DOE plans to make available up to $600,000 for technical assistance for up to 20 communities that enter the competition. Assistance can potentially go towards conducting audits of buildings; doing energy use benchmarking; holding community energy fairs; and assisting with business plan development, project financing opportunities and risk assessment.

In the final phase of the competition, DOE will award up to $3.3 million in competitive grants to up to five communities for the implementation of energy efficiency plans.

Deputy Secretary of Energy Liz Sherwood-Randall said that the competition forms “an integral part of DOE’s enduring partnership with Alaska.”

“The Department of Energy is committed to helping remote Alaskan communities deploy sustainable solutions tailored to the state’s unique energy profile,” she said. “Climate change effects near the Arctic Circle can be gradual and quiet like changes in fisheries, and they can be seismic and sudden, like the calving of a glacier.”

Information about the competition is available on the DOE website at energy.gov/AlaskaCompetition.

- ALAN BAILEY