Inside Passage Electric Cooperative, a non-profit utility based in Juneau, is among 63 projects chosen for funding talks under a US Department of Energy tribal energy programme worth more than $125 million, the Juneau Empire reports.
The co-operative supplies power to more than 1,300 members in Hoonah, Kake, Angoon, Klukwan and the Chilkat Valley, rural Southeast Alaska communities separated by water and mountains. Its selection is listed under the Chilkat Indian Village, the federally recognised tribe in Klukwan.
The department announced the selections on 22 October, covering 61 tribal entities in 16 states. Details of the Alaska project's scope, funding amount and timetable have not yet been published. The utility has previously been a partner in smaller federal grid-resilience grants in Klukwan and Kake, and its customers have recently faced a rise in a fuel-related power charge.
Source: Juneau Empire
Photo: Downtown Juneau, Juneau, AK 99801, USA – panoramio (5) by Michael Boyd, CC BY 3.0, via Wikimedia Commons. Illustrative image of Juneau.
