Three Alaska Tribal Villages Selected for TA
Three Native Villages in Alaska are now part of Communities LEAP, a DOE program with our National Labs and energy experts sharing technical assistance for clean-energy economic development efforts.
Congratulations to the Native Village of Eklutna, the Native Village of Kongiganak, and the Native Village of Tyonek for this accomplishment. These are the first selectees from Alaska in Communities LEAP. The first cohort was announced in 2022, and this is the second cohort, which was announced last week.
This opportunity is specifically open to low-income, energy-burdened communities that are also disadvantaged and/or are experiencing direct economic impacts from a shift away from historical reliance on fossil fuels. Under Communities LEAP, DOE matches selected communities with technical assistance providers who assist them with bringing their clean energy planning and economic development vision to life.
Register Now to Join us in May in Anchorage
Sign up now to join our pre-conference event! We'll have an afternoon of presentations from the Department of Energy National Laboratories, with topics that were selected in conversation with our Arctic Energy Ambassadors including a dive into case studies, structuring projects, and demystifying nuclear energy. Director Erin Whitney will be moderating this event, and we'll be joined by Governor of Alaska Mike Dunleavy in conversation with Danielle Smith, Premier of Alberta, Canada, to kick things off.
Tribal Clean Energy Funding Opportunity
The Office of Indian Energy Policy and Programs has DOUBLED the funding in the Funding Opportunity Announcement (FOA) for the Clean Energy Technology Deployment on Tribal Lands funding opportunity.
Get your application in by May 30 if you’re with an Alaska Native Regional Corporation or Village Corporation, Intertribal Organization, Indian Tribe, or Tribal Energy Development Organization. Applications are due May 30, 2024, at 5 p.m. ET.
This FOA builds on the authorities granted to the DOE Office of Indian Energy under the Energy Policy Act of 2005, to accelerate the deployment of clean energy technology on Tribal lands. In addition to the $75 million committed to Tribal energy projects selected in 2023, the Office of Indian Energy has invested over $120 million in Native communities across the contiguous 48 states and Alaska since 2010.
Renew America's Schools Prize - Open Now
Applications are open for the 2024 Renew America’s Schools Prize, which will award an anticipated $180 million to districts across the country engaging in strategic partnerships to build capacity and implement energy upgrades in their schools. Eligible submissions will lower utilities costs, improve indoor air quality, and foster healthier learning environments. Competitors submitting proposals should be organizations or teams with the capacity to aggregate and manage projects across a portfolio.
DOE's Northern Lights: New Stories Published
The Arctic Energy Office is hosting a series of interviews to highlight the lives and achievements of some of DOE’s outstanding employees with Arctic and Alaskan connections.
Meet Erik Olds, who was born and raised on Adak Island at the end of the Aleutians, and now works as the Deputy Manager at the Office of Environmental Management’s Oak Ridge site. His parents worked for the first national bank in Alaska, and Erik's parents viewed it as an adventure to live on Adak. Because of this, he was not born in a hospital, but in a Naval Dispensary on Adak! Read more.
Meet Justin Smith, a new DOE employee in our Manufacturing and Energy Supply Chains Office who spent three years stationed at Joint Base Elmendorf-Richardson and has climbed Denali. He also rode a motorcycle the length of the Dalton Highway to Purdue Bay. Read more about Justin.
Meet Nick Palso, who went to college in Fairbanks and spent two summers doing his doctoral dissertation research in Alaska. Nick is now a senior project manager heading up a hydroelectric incentives program at the Grid Deployment Office. Read more about Nick.
80% Railbelt Renewable Portfolio Standard
The National Renewable Energy Laboratory published an 80% Renewable Portfolio Standard (RPS) analysis for Alaska’s “Railbelt,” the term used to refer to Alaska’s largest electrical grid which stretches from Fairbanks in the interior to Homer on the southern tip of the Kenai Peninsula and serves the majority of the state’s population.
This report arrives at a time when the Railbelt is facing a natural gas shortage and potential natural gas imports by electric utilities, all against the backdrop of a global energy transition to sustainable energy sources. Read more analysis on this report from our Senior Energy Advisor, Dr. Levi Kilcher, on our blog.
Hydroelectric Production Incentives
The Grid Deployment Office announced the opening of the application period for the Hydroelectric Production Incentive, part of the Hydroelectric Incentives Program, which supports the modernization and expansion of hydroelectric power throughout America. Supported by the Bipartisan Infrastructure Law passed under President Biden, the Hydroelectric Incentives Program is focused on maintaining and enhancing hydroelectric facilities to ensure generators continue to provide clean power, while improving dam safety and reducing environmental impacts.