The Native Village of Atmautluak will establish baseline energy use in tribal community buildings to set energy efficiency improvement goals as well as provide a benchmark for evaluating future efforts to reduce and stabilize energy costs.

The Native Village of Atmautluak is an Alaska Native Village and federally recognized tribe. Atmautluak is located in the southwest region of Alaska. Atmautluak has a population of 322 and 98% of the population is Alaska Native who depend on the abundant subsistence foods native to their lands.

Fuel is barged into Atmautluak in the summer and electricity is provided by a diesel generator. The high cost of fuel and energy compels the Tribe to pursue energy-efficient buildings.

In September 2016, a Comprehensive Energy Audit for the washeteria resulted in a plan to reduce electricity costs by 46%. The Tribe needs a similar plan for all of the tribal buildings with high heating and electricity costs.

The Atmautluak Energy Efficiency Project will establish baseline energy use in tribal community buildings for setting energy efficiency improvement goals as well as providing a comparison point for evaluating future efforts. This project will measure energy use and energy intensity at a determined level of detail and will establish a benchmark for future comparison. The project fits well with long-term goals of the Native Village of Atmautluak, which is committed to doing everything they can to make their community sustainable, healthy, and safe.

The goal is for Native Village of Atmautluak to reduce and stabilize energy costs in tribal buildings by setting energy efficiency improvement goals. The tribal buildings in this project include the Community Hall, Gaming Department, Public Safety Building, and Traditional Council Shop.

The objectives and tasks toward achieving energy efficiency goals are:

1. Initiate building monitoring and onsite assessment
2. Develop a data plan
3. Establish initial meeting between Native Village of Atmautluak Traditional Council and the project manager and energy auditor
4. Select a baseline year
5. Collect baseline energy data
6. Survey energy use and identify significant energy users
7. Develop an Energy Action Plan, Maintenance Plan, and training opportunities
8. Attend final meeting between Native Village of Atmautluak Traditional Council and the project manager and energy auditor to discuss results and next steps.

The outcome of this project is the Native Village of Atmautluak Energy Action Plan, which prioritizes actions to be taken and establishes a timeline for implementation. The completed energy audit process, done in conjunction with the Tribe, will empower the Native Village of Atmautluak with energy-efficient, safe, and comfortable buildings. The buildings can showcase to the community what the energy efficiency retrofit process looks like, and inspire other community members to take similar, smaller steps to retrofit their own homes and businesses.

Atmautluak is located in the southwest region of Alaska, 20 miles northwest of Bethel and 400 miles west of Anchorage on the Yukon Kuskokwim Delta. Atmautluak is on the west bank of the Pitmiktakik River. The land is rolling tundra, dotted with many lakes and ponds. Atmautluak is not connected by roads to any other community. All travel and supplies depend on small planes and on boats, when the rivers are free of ice. 

The project is complete. For additional details, see the final report.

The project was competitively selected under the U.S. Department of Energy Office of Indian Energy’s Fiscal Year 2016 funding opportunity announcement “First Steps Toward Developing Renewable Energy and Energy Efficiency on Tribal Lands – 2016” (DE-FOA-0001621) and started in September 2017.

The November 2017 and December 2018 project status report provides more information.