Alternative energy pioneers: native corporations getting on the grid.

• Author: Stricker, Julie

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An energy crisis in a state as resource-rich as Alaska may seem ironic. But for thousands of people living in remote rural areas of the vast state, skyrocketing energy prices are a daily struggle.

Last year's record oil prices brought the high costs to the communities in sharp relief. Villages rely on diesel and other petroleum products to run their community generators, heat their homes, fuel their vehicles and fly or barge in food and basic commodities. Jobs are scarce. There were reports of villagers having to choose between buying food and heating their homes last winter.

"One thing to keep in mind is a lot of these high energy costs are a great portion of the household income," says NANA project director Sonny Adams.

He notes that the high cost of gas--more than $9 per gallon in some villages--also makes it difficult for people to gather subsistence food.

NATIVE CORPORATIONS HELP

Alaska's Native regional and village corporations are stepping in to help ease villages' dependence on fossil fuels, and reduce the high cost of living through the development of alternative energy projects.

The corporations were created through the 1971 Alaska Native Claims Settlement Act. Twelve Alaska-based regional corporations and about 200 village corporations divided nearly 44 million acres of land and nearly $963 million to settle aboriginal land claims so the trans-Alaska oil pipeline could be built.

These corporations have grown into multi-layered, multimillion and multibillion dollar economic engines in Alaska, but have retained strong ties to the villages and cultural traditions.

STATE PLEDGES HELP

The State has pledged $300 million in renewable energy grants over the next five years, and millions more is available through federal economic stimulus funding. Today, wind turbines are sprouting up in communities over the state and residents are looking at a wide range of alternative energy options.

TANANA CHIEFS CONFERENCE

A partnership between the Tanana Chiefs Conference (TCC) and the Alaska Center for Energy and Power is working with 42 villages in Interior Alaska on alternative energy projects.

"Our communities have abundant renewable energy resources available to them," Jerry Isaac, president of TCC, said in a news release. "We have geothermal, biomass, hydrokinetic and other potential energy sources. By combining the community organizing skills and representation of TCC with the university's technical and scientific...