The remote Aleutian Islands community of Nikolski is pleased with an apparent change of heart by the state of Alaska. The small island community has had a couple of rough years with notoriously bad weather hampering fuel deliveries resulting in enormous emergency delivery costs. Last year, the tribal council got federal funding to build a wind turbine to help offset diesel fuel expense. They also hoped to heat a greenhouse the community had built for growing fresh produce. But the Alaska Energy Authority refused to help pay the cost of changing the control panel that would connect the wind power to the diesel plant. A cost estimated at around $180,000. Tribal Administrator Tanya Kyle says now through the state’s renewable energy fund, they’ll be awarded more than $400,000.
Lori Townsend, APRN – Anchorage
