Akiachak Native Community – 2021 Project

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

Summary

This project will install energy efficiency measures in five essential, multiuse buildings in Akiachak Native Community (ANC) in Alaska. ANC is proposing to install energy efficiency measures in the laundry, Tribal Indian Reorganization Act (IRA) Office, clinic, daycare, and police station. The following measures will be implemented in all five buildings: installing setback thermostats, installing light-emitting diode (LED) lighting, installing occupancy sensors where appropriate, and replacing constant speed circulation pumps with variable speed pumps. The project is expected to reduce energy consumption and save the Village $17,369 annually, plus reduce maintenance costs an additional $2,085 each year.

Project Description

Background

ANC is a federally recognized Yup’ik Alaska Native Village. It was the first community in Alaska to dissolve its city government for a tribal government, and today the five-member IRA Council leads the community. Akiachak is only accessible year-round by small plane because there are no roads in or out of the Village, although a barge brings supplies each summer. As of the 2010 census, 627 people lived in Akiachak. That year, 95% of the population was Alaska Native or American Indian. Most of the people speak Yup’ik and teach it to their children. The Akiachak Native Community is highly motivated to protect their land and natural resources through conservation and promotes sustainability throughout the community.

The goal of the project is to reduce the overall energy use of the Akiachak Native Community. This project is one step toward ANC’s long-term vision for energy conservation, and it builds on previous energy work completed in Akiachak, including participation in the Alaska Village Energy Efficiency Program in 2010, where retrofits of 11 buildings led to energy upgrades valued at $150,000, which saved approximately $44,000 per year in energy costs. In 2018, ANC continued this work, obtaining audits of nine tribal buildings through a U.S. Department of Energy (DOE) grant. Since then, ANC has steadily undertaken the recommended retrofits, and this project addresses many of the audit recommendations for five of those buildings. 

Project Objectives

The Akiachak Tribal IRA Council has developed and adopted an Energy Efficiency and Conservation Strategy, which consists of four energy objectives for the community, listed here in order of priority:

1. Create and maintain functionally appropriate, sustainable, accessible, high-quality tribal infrastructure and facilities.
2. Protect and optimize the Tribe’s natural resources and built environment, leading by example through sustainable practices and behaviors.
3. Decrease overall community consumption of nonrenewable and nonrecycled materials.
4. Promote, implement, and integrate sustainable practices throughout the community in our homes, businesses, and everyday lives.

This project directly addresses all of these objectives.

The goal of this project is to reduce the overall energy use of the ANC by implementing energy efficiency measures in five high-use tribal buildings. This project will have the following projected outcomes: annual energy savings of $17,369, reduction annual fuel oil #1 use of 1,200 gallons, electricity savings of 17,751 kWh per year, and annual reduction in carbon dioxide emissions of approximately 60,340 pounds per year.

Project Scope

The highest-priority retrofits include replacing lighting with more efficient LEDs, installing setback thermostats, and replacing the furnaces in the laundry. These retrofits need to be completed by qualified contractors, which are not locally available in Akiachak. ANC plans to complete audit recommendations not included in this project later, using the cost savings from these initial retrofits to fund the additional energy efficiency measures.

Project Location

ANC is a remote and traditional Yup’ik Village located on the shores of the Kuskokwim River in southwest Alaska, roughly 60 miles from the Bering Sea.