Federal grants for Alaska rural energy

Alan Bailey

for Petroleum News

In a Feb. 27 press release U.S. Senators Lisa Murkowski and Dan Sullivan welcomed a U.S. Department of Energy announcement that DOE is awarding $125.1 million in funding for five rural energy projects in Alaska. The funding comes from DOE's Energy Improvement in Rural or Remote Areas Program, a funding program established as part of the Infrastructure Investment and Jobs Act, passed by Congress in 2021.

The senators said that the funding includes up to $7.3 million for the Chignik Hydroelectric Dam and Water Source project; up to $54.8 million for the Clean Energy in the Northwest Arctic project; up to $26.1 million for the Clean Energy on the Yukon project; up to $10 million for the Old Harbor Hydroelectric project; and up to $26.9 million for the Thayer Creek Hydroelectric project.

The senators said that the projects will facilitate increased development of Alaska's abundant hydropower resources, together with other facilities including solar energy, battery storage systems, heat pumps and electrical interconnections.

"One of my priorities when crafting the bipartisan infrastructure law was cleaner and more affordable energy for Alaska," Murkowski said. "I see the opportunities we have to utilize more of our local resources, the hardships that high energy costs cause across our state, and pushed this innovative program as a way to tackle both. I thank Secretary Granholm and her team for recognizing this need, and for choosing more projects and awarding more funding to Alaska than any other state."

"I've long advocated for taking advantage of Alaska's untapped renewable energy potential to meet our communities' energy needs, especially in our rural areas where Alaskans bear the exorbitant cost of diesel fuel to heat their homes and keep the lights on," Sullivan said. "This major investment -- a result of our work in the Infrastructure, Investment & Jobs Act -- will fund hydroelectric facilities, battery storage, transmission lines, and other energy infrastructure that will ultimately reduce costs and increase resiliency for Alaskans in Chignik Bay, Old Harbor, Nulato, Huslia, Kaltag, Grayling, Anvik, Shageluk, Holy Cross, Angoon, and villages across the Northwest Arctic Borough."

--ALAN BAILEY