New federal competition aims to improve rural energy efficiency

Stanley Frank washeteria in Venetie, Alaska. (Public Domain photo by U.S. Department of Energy)
Stanley Frank washeteria in Venetie, Alaska. (Public Domain photo by U.S. Department of Energy)

Gov. Bill Walker recently announced a non-binding federal energy program that aims to improve energy efficiency in participating rural Alaska villages through outreach, technical assistance and project development.

It’s called the Rural Alaska Communities Energy Efficiency Competition and it’s run by the U.S. Department of Energy.

According to the announcement, villages that want to participate are not required to have a detailed plan; they just have to sign a pledge to improve their energy efficiency by 15 percent by 2020, using 2010 as a baseline.

Participating communities will also be able to compete for technical assistance. Twenty communities will be selected, and those twenty will split up to 3.3 million dollars in grants for their energy efficiency projects.

The deadline is Tuesday, Feb. 2nd, at 5 p.m.

Find more information about the program here. Find the form here.

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