The federal Department of Energy has added five Alaska Native tribes to its program offering technical assistance in crafting plans to boost energy efficiency and sustainability.
The villages will get help from the federal government for projects that range from optimizing existing wind turbines to crafting an entirely new energy plan. The assistance program will begin in June and runs through June 2018.
The program, known as "START," doesn't provide direct funding, but past iterations have included help in applying for major federal funding.
The village of Minto went to DOE for technical help in 2013 and since then has gotten more than $350,000 in federal and state grants to weatherize and upgrade a community center that was sucking up $75,000 a year in fuel costs. The village hopes to get a 30 percent cut in energy use when upgrades are complete.
The Energy Department's Office of Indian Energy partners with the Denali Commission on the program. More than 20 Alaska villages have been included in the program -- which operates in the Lower 48 as well -- since its launch in 2012.
The 2015 selections:
--The Hoonah Indian Association on Chichagof Island, 30 miles west of Juneau, will get help holding community workshops and crafting a strategic energy plan, including improving energy efficiency at the local school and possibly building a biomass waste-to-energy plant.
--The Huslia Village, on the north bank of the Koyukuk River about 290 air miles west of Fairbanks, has a lot of energy improvements to make, according to the DOE. The technical assistance will prioritize options like weatherization, solar thermal power and LED lighting.
--The Kokhanok Village wants help getting its wind-diesel power turbines to operate better and to develop a business plan for expanding its biomass project, according to DOE. The village is on the south shore of Lake Iliamna.
--The Organized Village of Kwethluk, 20 miles east of Bethel, needs help with its power generation and transmission system.
--The Native Village of Shungnak wants technical help prioritizing a variety of alternative energy and energy efficiency projects already in the works. The village is about 150 air miles east of Kotzebue, on the west bank of the Kobuk River.