Kawerak, Inc. – 2016 Project

NOTE: Project pages are being updated regularly to reflect changes, if any; however, some of the information may be dated.

Project Summary

This project will create a regional Energy Planning Network to provide energy training and information to the 20 tribal communities in the Bering Strait Region of northwest Alaska, host an annual regional Energy Summit in the hub community of Nome, and provide remote and on-site technical support to communities and tribes that are working on energy planning or specific projects. Kawerak will partner with several agencies to collaborate and provide detailed support to communities that are working toward implementation of priority energy projects and on local energy planning efforts.

Kawerak is the regional nonprofit tribal consortium that compacts with the federal government to provide Bureau of Indian Affairs services on behalf of 18 of the 20 tribes in the Bering Strait Region.

Kawerak, formed 43 years ago and headquartered in Nome, supports the 18 tribes and residents with a variety of programs. Nome’s population is 3,819, and the 15 surrounding communities range in population from 94 to 745; the Bering Strait Region has a population of 10,040 and is 75.84% Alaska Native. The residents in the Bering Strait rural communities live a subsistence lifestyle, are economically distressed with few local employment opportunities, and pay some of the highest costs in the nation for energy, communication technology, and other goods and services. The communities in the region are not connected via roads, making it challenging to obtain information and technical support or training for energy project development. Rising energy costs affect everything in a rural community, and in a harsh arctic environment an energy crisis can threaten human health and essential community infrastructure.

Kawerak’s vision is “our people and tribes are thriving,” and its mission is “to advance the capacity of their people and tribes for the benefit of the region.” This project supports this vision and mission by building local energy planning capacity, increasing access to training and technical support, and improving collaboration and energy solutions for rural communities. Kawerak’s Community Services Division’s Community Planning and Development program assists tribes, business, and individuals with business development, economic and community development, and environmental programs.

Kawerak strives to build tribal capacity and self-sufficiency, and this project supports that goal by coordinating technical support at the local level for effective energy development projects. With this project, the Community Planning and Development program will work with communities to regularly update the regional energy plan; increase regional awareness of federal, state, and private energy programs; and provide knowledge to improve advocacy efforts by Kawerak, tribes, and communities about energy issues and funding opportunities for rural energy needs.

The goal of the Bering Strait Energy Planning Network project is to improve local capacity for effective energy planning and project development for the benefit of the region. The project objectives include:

1. Providing technical support for rural energy planning and energy project development
2. Increasing access to energy information and training
3. Regularly updating the regional energy plan
4. Increasing collaboration with other agencies and regions to improve energy solutions in rural Alaska.

This project is intended to coordinate energy solutions among the Kawerak tribes, deliver technical assistance, build human capacity, serve as a clearinghouse for energy information, allow more tribes to network with regional and national energy organizations, and enhance the DOE’s technical assistance to Alaska Native tribes.

Specifically, Kawerak will hire an Energy Development Specialist to establish a regional Energy Planning Network. The network will contract with selected vendors and form an Energy Team to report to the Bering Strait Development Council (the Alaska Regional Development Organization, also called ARDOR). Kawerak will work with partners as a clearinghouse for energy information; provide training and detailed individualized remote and on-site technical assistance to communities on energy projects; work with communities to update the regional energy plan and contribute results to state energy planners; and host an annual regional energy summit to share information, provide training, and network with other regions to collaborate on energy issues and projects.

This project will provide detailed specialized energy planning assistance and technical support to 18 tribal development coordinators who develop projects and write grants, and enable the Community Planning and Development program to extend its assistance to all 20 tribes in the region, 15 rural governments, and private energy providers.   

This project will provide assistance to all 20 tribal communities located in the Bering Strait Region of Northwest Alaska. The Bering Strait Region is about the size of West Virginia.It has a population of 10,040, and nearly 76% of the residents are Alaska Native. The 16 rural communities are not connected to each other or the rest of Alaska by roads; the primary access is by air.

The project was competitively selected under the Office of Indian Energy’s Fiscal Year 2016 funding opportunity announcement “Establishment of an Inter-tribal Technical Assistance Energy Providers Network” (DE-FOA-0001453) and started in September 2016.

The project is complete. For details, see the final report and project status reports.