Federal dollars are available to help Alaska businesses in rural areas make improvements in energy efficiency.
The Rural Energy for America Program – or REAP – is a program of the U.S. Department of Agriculture. A statewide nonprofit organization called RurAL CAP is providing technical assistance for anyone interested in diving into the application process.
Shae Bowman is an energy development specialist with RurAL CAP, who discussed the program with the Sitka Chamber of Commerce earlier this month.
She said that the Rural Energy for America Program is often associated with developing renewable energy – typically solar panels. And while solar isn’t out of the question for rainy Southeast Alaska anymore, there are other opportunities for making energy improvements that could be more practical.
“So that could be upgrading appliances or installing heat pumps, or upgrading your lighting to be LED lighting,” Bowman said. “It could be adding better insulation to your business, or if your business is being heated by, for example, diesel fuel, maybe it’s the switch over to heat pumps if your community has a hydroelectric plant.”
Bowman said some of the most attractive businesses for energy funding are actually commercial fishing boats. There are significant opportunities for energy upgrades that aren’t necessarily obvious.
“Some of those projects have been getting solar panels on the boat, increasing the capacity of the fish hold, or insulating the fish hold,” she said. “It could be kind of hard to see how these would be connected to your energy efficiency, but if you increase the capacity of your fish hold when you’re a commercial fishermen, that would mean you’re potentially making less trips to the tender, so you’re burning less diesel fuel. If you have a better-insulated hold, then you’re not expending as much energy to keep your fish cold.”
Bowman says that REAP covers 50% of the costs of these projects, which can be a huge help, but the application process can be daunting. An energy assessment or audit will be needed depending on the size of the project, as well as other logistical challenges. But, that’s what she’s there for: Helping to guide applicants through the process and connect them with the funding.
And sometimes it’s about not encouraging people to proceed with a lengthy application.
“And a lot of times, you know, people will sign up for technical assistance, and we’ll talk through a project, and they’ll be like, ‘Okay, I don’t know if this is a right fit, or it’s a lot more work than I was initially anticipating,’ and so they might just decide to fund the project, like out of pocket,” said Bowman. “Versus sometimes we get together and we talk about a project, and they’re like, ‘Okay, I think this is really going to be worth my time,’ and then we know how we can move forward.”
Bowman’s program was part of the Sitka Chamber of Commerce’s Summer Speaker Series.
The next presenter in the Chamber’s series will be Rep. Rebecca Himschoot with a legislative update, at noon on Wednesday.
Robert Woolsey is the news director at KCAW in Sitka.
