Southwest Alaska Municipal Conference – 2016 Project

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

Summary

Under this project, the Southwest Alaska Municipal Conference (SWAMC), designated as an Alaska Regional Development Organization (ARDOR), will: (1) establish energy coordinators and management structures in the Aleutian, Bristol Bay, and Kodiak regions as well as at SWAMC in Anchorage; (2) expand the technical assistance capacity of regional residents; (3) demonstrate capacity through advancing energy efficiency, heat, and power supply projects; and (4) secure long-term strategic and funding commitments for the technical assistance structures.

SWAMC was incorporated in January 1988 as a 501(c)(4) nonprofit. In 1989, SWAMC received designation as an ARDOR, and in 1991, SWAMC was designated as an Economic Development District. SWAMC membership includes cities, boroughs, villages, tribal councils, businesses, nonprofits, and individuals of southwest Alaska. SWAMC provides technical assistance to the region by contracting for services within the scope of the organization’s mission, including economic development and energy planning.

SWAMC is a regional membership organization that advances the collective interests of southwest Alaska people, businesses, and communities, promoting economic opportunities that improve quality of life and influence long-term responsible development. Three Alaska Native regional corporations—the Aleut Corporation, the Bristol Bay Native Corporation, and Koniag Incorporated—and 53 Alaska Native entities are located within the SWAMC Region. The Native villages and tribes in the SWAMC Region are made up of Alutiiq, Aleut, and Central Yup’ik indigenous peoples. These three regional corporations and the 53 Alaska Native villages and tribes in the region will be the focus of this project

SWAMC has initiated the energy planning contracts with the Alaska Energy Authority since 2012 to develop a resource inventory for each community in the region, gather information about energy priorities and active projects, and identify individuals in each community to become local champions. This proposed U.S. Department of Energy Office of Indian Energy Inter-tribal Technical Assistance Energy Providers Network is a logical continuation of SWAMC’s energy planning efforts and would ensure that community enthusiasm on energy is translated to project reality, driven by functional energy committees. 

The project goal and objectives are drawn from more than 3 years of community and regional outreach, research, and analysis in the Aleutian, Bristol Bay, and Kodiak regions. The project goal is for southwest Alaska regional tribal partners and communities to develop efficient, stable structures for identifying and developing energy projects that enhance community resiliency and energy sustainability. Three project objectives focus on a three-part process for achieving this goal:

1. Build in-region technical and management capacity to address the lack of information and direction, build communication and data management systems, and provide training. Four new positions will be created, including a Multi-Region Energy Coordinator at SWAMC and three Regional Energy Coordinators.
2. Demonstrate improved regional capacity by identifying and developing energy efficiency, heating, and power supply projects that reduce community costs, improve energy systems, and utilize alternative sources of energy. Energy efficiency activities are focused on awareness raising, baseline data collection, and analysis; heating and power activities are focused on moving communities to the application-ready stage.  
3. Develop regional energy management structures that are financially sustainable. The primary purpose of the activities under this project is to create and entrench project management and structures at the regional level. A critical piece of this is ensuring strategic and financial support for the positions and structures developed under this project: coordinator positions, data management, communication/peer networks, and an information clearinghouse.

Each project objective will be addressed with a deliberate sequencing of tasks; the purpose of the sequencing is to build the capacity of personnel and structures to the point of self-sufficiency. The project starts by establishing and staffing energy assistance structures in each region; continues by expanding energy assistance capacity and capability (with training, outreach, and meetings), linking new assistance structures to projects as a proof of concept, and developing clear action plans on identified needs in the areas of energy efficiency and conservation, heat, and power supply; and closes by securing strategic and funding commitments for the assistance structures.

This project will take place in southwest Alaska. Three Alaska Native regional corporations are located within the SWAMC Region: The Aleut Corporation, the Bristol Bay Native Corporation, and Koniag Incorporated. Southwest Alaska is a vast area that includes portions of mainland Alaska as well as hundreds of islands encompassing four incorporated boroughs and two federally recognized census areas: the Aleutians East Borough, the Aleutians West Census Area, the Bristol Bay Borough, the Dillingham Census Area, the Kodiak Island Borough, and the Lake & Peninsula Borough. The combined area, including water, encompasses 93,875 square miles; including land only it encompasses 60,907 square miles.

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

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 November 2016, November 2017, and May 2019 project status reports provide more information.