WASHINGTON – Today, Representative Mary Peltola (AK-AL) announced a total of $124.9 million in Inflation Reduction Act funding for the Alaska Energy Authority and the Tanana Chiefs Conference to fund and operationalize new solar energy projects in the state.
“Investing in energy projects across the board–solar, wind, hydro and more–lowers utility bills for Alaska families and creates new jobs!” said Peltola. “I’m proud to have advocated for this funding and to be able to bring it home to our Alaska.”
Peltola and the Alaska delegation wrote to U.S. Environmental Protection Agency Administrator Michael Regan in support of both grants last fall. View the letters HERE and HERE.
Recipient
Amount
EPA Project description
Alaska Energy Authority
$62,450,000
Alaska Energy Authority program will deploy solar photovoltaic infrastructure across the state. The program will span from urban, residential projects to community-scale, rural projects across Alaska. Implementation of solar infrastructure will reduce greenhouse gas emissions across the state while providing low-income and disadvantaged communities access to renewable energy. This program will not only offer Alaskans further access to renewable energy, but also provide funding to develop the local Alaskan workforce. The program will stimulate the solar industry in the state, mobilize financing and private capital to advance additional deployment of greenhouse gas and air pollution-reducing projects.
Tanana Chiefs Conference
$62,450,000
The Alaska Tribal SFA is a partnership between three organizations to provide comprehensive access to the benefits of SFA Tribal residents of Alaska. Tanana Chiefs Conference (TCC), the Alaska Native Tribal Health Consortium (ANTHC), and Alaska Housing Finance Corporation (AHFC) each have developed programs that will provide Tribal residents throughout Alaska the opportunity to benefit from solar. Alaska maintains over 40% of the nation’s Federally Recognized Tribes and is the state with the highest proportion of Alaska Native and American Indian residents (19.6%) in the nation. Whether a Tribal member owns a house with sufficient capacity to manage distributed generation, or a Tribal member lives in a community that operates a tiny isolated microgrid where rooftop solar isn’t feasible—all Tribal residents of Alaska will have the opportunity to benefit from this project.
