The Tanana example

In 2007, the Alaska Natural Gas Development Authority teamed up with the village of Tanana to study the feasibility of using propane in villages along the Yukon and Kuskokwim rivers. Some Tanana residents already used propane for cooking. The village has since converted its teacher-housing unit to propane for heat, hot water, clothes drying and cooking, and is exploring other propane-related technologies.

City Manager Bear Ketzler said propane still costs more than $5 per gallon in the Yukon River village, but added that he was able to reduce the cost to $3.47 a gallon by buying two large, 1,000-gallon tanks and buying the fuel in bulk. If ANGDA’s cost estimates prove true, Ketzler told conference-goers, the North Slope propane project could provide significant savings to Tanana and other villages.

In an interview, Ketzler said the biggest challenge so far has been the lack of workers in rural Alaska trained to handle propane. He said he’s been working with the Denali Commission and the state Department of Labor and Workforce Development to schedule a weeklong training session this fall for 15 workers from villages across Alaska. Workers will be trained in handling and transferring propane and in installing propane appliances.

Ketzler said he’s also hoping to test a hybrid propane unit providing household heat, hot water and electricity once the units receive a UL listing in the U.S. He added that he’s encouraging the local electric utility to consider using a propane generator.

—Stefan Milkowski