More than $12M in Federal Funding for Tribal Renewable Energy Projects Statewide
Photo Credit: michelangeloop | Envato
Kootznoowoo, Inc., the Alaska Native village corporation for Angoon, was awarded nearly $6 million from the US Bureau of Indian Affairs Office of Indian Economic Development Tribal Electrification Program (TEP).
“This grant now brings the Thayer Hydroelectric Project to being fully funded,” says Kootznoowoo’s Interim President and CEO Keith Greene. “This milestone is a huge win for the project and for the people of Angoon who experience incredibly high energy costs due to the community’s dependence on diesel generated power.”
Annual Savings of $1 Million
The overall cost of the run-of-the-river hydro project is estimated to be $33.7 million. Once completed, Thayer Hydroelectric will produce 850 kW, which is approximately three times Angoon’s current energy needs. The existing diesel power plant will serve as a backup system. This will displace approximately 120,000 gallons of diesel fuel for electrical generation and has the potential to displace an additional 130,000 gallons of heating fuel annually, thus saving approximately $1 million annually in energy costs.
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Kootznoowoo is the first Alaska Native corporation to negotiate a compact agreement with the Bureau of Indian Affairs to receive a TEP planning grant. The TEP program was established under the Inflation Reduction Act of 2022 and the Justice50 initiative. TEP received more than $145 million aimed at increasing the number of tribal homes with zero-emission electricity.
Other Thayer project funders, in addition to the TEP grant, include the Alaska Energy Authority, the US Department of Energy’s Office of Clean Energy, and the Denali Commission.
Tanana Chiefs Conference, Kotzebue Also Receive Energy Funding
Another $3 million TEP grant goes to the Tanana Chiefs Conference. And on September 5, the Department of Energy selected twelve local governments and tribes to receive more than $31 million in funding through the Communities Sparking Investments in Transformative Energy (C-SITE) funding opportunity. Through that program, $3.35 million goes to Kotzebue.
C-SITE supports the implementation of high-impact clean energy projects in disadvantaged communities, energy communities, and small- and medium-sized jurisdictions. Native Village of Kotzebue, in collaboration with Kotzebue Electric Association, Kikiktagruk Inupiat Corporation, the Northwest Arctic Borough, and Atautchikun (a public benefit company formed in 2023 to seek energy grants for the Northwest Arctic region) will use C-SITE funding to invest in solar energy while repurposing decommissioned wind turbine infrastructure to improve resilience and reduce energy costs.
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