NANA Partners with RurAL CAP: Energy Wise Program cultivates energy efficiency.

• Author: Freeman, Louise
• Position: Special section: BUILDING ALASKA

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With high energy costs causing financial hardship for rural residents throughout the state, Alaska Native corporations, NGOs and state and federal agencies have been scrambling to find ways to address the problem. Weatherization programs are one answer, but however effective these programs are, they are expensive to fund-up to $35,000 per home--complex to plan, and often take years to implement. There has been a need for simple and cost-effective solutions that can be put in place immediately.

The cost of energy in rural Alaska "is an issue we are working in partnership with other regional organizations to address, but it is the single largest barrier to regional economic development," said Marie Greene, president and CEO of NANA Regional Corp. Inc. (NANA). In 2010, Rural Alaska Community Action Program (RurAL CAP), a statewide, private, nonprofit organization, used approximately $2.5 million in federal 2009 Recovery and Reinvestment Act funds to launch a pilot program to address one aspect of rural energy use that has often been ignored: education. "We can't overlook the importance of the human factor of what goes into using energy. We help people understand where their energy money is going. And based on that, they can make their own decision on how to use that energy," said Cathie Clements, community development director at RurAL CAP.

COMMUNITY EDUCATION

Energy Wise focuses on communities with especially high fuel costs and that are low on the wait list for weatherization. These high-need villages are provided with a local crew of trained employees who help educate their neighbors by organizing a community conservation fair and making home visits. Interested residents are visited in their homes by a trained Energy Wise crew. The crew leader works one-on-one with them to assess household energy/kilowatt consumption.

In addition to demystifying the often confusing heating and electric bills, the crew leader helps residents to make the connection between how they use energy and what that looks like on their bills. Crew members then install $300 of efficiency upgrade equipment, including compact fluorescent lights, weather-stripping and water heater blankets. (Energy Wise is designed to complement, or piggy-back on weatherization programs, which make larger-scale upgrades such as adding insulation and new windows.) The crew leader follows up with a visit three to six months later to answer any questions.

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