Alaska Tribes Awarded Grants to Reduce Greenhouse Gas Pollution

Yesterday, the EPA awarded a little over $61.2 million in grants to Alaska Tribes and Tribal Organizations yesterday to help reduce greenhouse gas pollution. The proposed projects are estimated to reduce greenhouse gas (GHG) by 282,500 metric tons of carbon dioxide emissions between 2025 and 2030. That is the equivalent of taking 67.2 thousand gas powered cars off the road for a year. 

A few highlights: 

The Alaska Native Tribal Health Consortium was awarded $24.2 million and plans to use the money to put up new wind turbines in the communities of Chevak, Toksook Bay, Tununak, and Nightmute and support other infrastructure that will reduce diesel fuel dependency. 

The Central Council of the Tlingit and Haida Indian Tribes was awarded $15 million and plan to use the money to construct composting facilities in Wrangell, Hoonah, Petersburg, Yakutat, and Juneau. This will divert waste that produces methane (a particularly potent greenhouse gas) when in landfills and reduce the amount of fuel needed to manage and transport waste. 

The Aleut Community of St Paul Island was awarded $14.8 million and plans to use the money to add three additional wind turbines and battery storage to their existing plant, upgrade some of their existing renewable energy infrastructure, and take further steps to reduce reliance on diesel. 

The Village of Solomon in coalition with King Island Native Community, Nome Eskimo Community, and Native Village of Council, was awarded $2.3 million and plans to use the money to improve efficiency of residencies and commercial buildings through weatherization and more efficient heating systems, educate community members on efficiency measures, and add solar panels and storage to the energy grid.