Klawock City Administrator Leslie Isaacs guides a tour of Sustainable Southeast Partnership participants during a walk around the city in 2018, which included visiting two local businesses, the local hatchery, the Vocational Tech center, Klawock Lake watershed, the totem park and the veteran pole. Klawock is a Tlingit community on Prince of Wales. Isaacs chairs Spruce Root’s Board of Directors. (Photo by Bethany Goodrich)
(FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE)
Spruce Root selected by U.S. Department of Energy to receive $2.5 million grant
Funding to Deploy Clean Energy in Rural and Remote America
Dzantik'i Heeni (Juneau, Alaska) — U.S. Department of Energy (DOE) Office of Clean Energy Demonstrations selected Spruce Root to receive $2.5 million in Bipartisan Infrastructure Law funding as part of the Energy Improvements in Rural or Remote Areas (ERA) program. This funding will launch the Tongass Green Bank project announced by Spruce Root in 2023.
Spruce Root will work to decarbonize the Tongass with Tribally owned heat pumps on Prince of Wales Island. This project proposes to install highly efficient air-source heat pumps in up to 240 Tribal buildings and homes on Prince of Wales, Alaska — a location only accessible by small plane or ferry. The project also includes a workforce development component, training local Alaska technicians to maintain heat pumps and perform installations into the future.
“Spruce Root has been able to bring more investment into our region by partnering with other entities like Alaska Power & Telephone Company (AP&T),” Spruce Root Executive Director Alana Peterson said. “By increasing the number of heating systems online, excess local hydropower will be used, helping to further the transition away from fossil fuels and make our region less reliant on outside resources.”
Rural Alaskans have much higher heating requirements than other Americans, yet lack access to natural gas and the North American grid system. Using air-source heat pumps, residents can enjoy consistent heat produced more efficiently than a traditional electric heater, making heat pumps ideal for Alaska’s winter temperatures.
Alaska U.S. Senators Lisa Murkowski and Dan Sullivan and Representative Mary Peltola all supported legislation to make federal programs like this one available.
The project was one of 19 community-led clean-energy projects selected across 12 states and 13 Tribal nations and communities to receive more than $78 million to develop and deploy sustainable clean-energy solutions and expand access to reliable and affordable energy in rural and remote communities across the United States.
Learn more about the ERA program and projects selected for award negotiations here.
Please contact Spruce Root Communications Specialist Tripp J Crouse for more information by calling 907 306 6475 or emailing tripp@spruceroot.org.