Rural Alaskan Village Adopts Solar and Biomass Energy to Reduce Diesel Dependency and Cut Costs

GALENA, Alaska – Eric Huntington built his dream cabin in the wilderness of central Alaska, where he raised two daughters. However, he soon discovered that living in this quiet, remote village came with significant expenses. Each year, the Huntington family spent around $7,000 on diesel to heat their cabin during the frigid winters. A few years ago, a power outage at the town’s diesel plant left residents shivering in minus 50°F (about minus 45°C). When power was finally restored hours later, many homes had frozen pipes, leaving about two dozen families without running water for days. “We just didn’t open our door all morning until the lights came back on,” recalled Huntington, a member of the local Louden Tribe.

In Galena, a sprawling village of 400 people along the banks of the Yukon River, the community—a former military base—is transitioning to clean energy to reduce its dependence on costly, imported diesel. Local leaders report that their nearly completed solar farm, in conjunction with an existing biomass plant, will enhance the town’s savings and protect residents from blackouts during extreme weather. This initiative not only has the potential to provide clean backup power during emergencies but also aims to improve the power grid’s resilience while diversifying the village’s energy sources and creating job opportunities for locals.

These projects come at a challenging time for renewable energy in the United States. The previous administration canceled billions of dollars in clean energy grants to support fossil fuel production, leading to the delay or cancellation of numerous investments this year. So far, the village’s federal grants for the solar array remain unaffected, but local leaders are aware of the ongoing risks. Regardless of future public funding, Galena serves as a model of how renewable energy can reduce costs, enhance reliability during severe weather, and foster job growth.

Once operational, the solar array will provide the village’s power grid with a backup system, said Tim Kalke, general manager of Sustainable Energy for Galena Alaska (SEGA), a nonprofit that will manage it. This means that power outages won’t lead to tens of thousands of dollars in repairs, ensuring heat during extreme cold. “You’re dealing with life, health, and safety,” he emphasized.

### A Biomass Project Fuels a Vibrant School

In May, dozens of high school students in navy blue caps and gowns waited nervously in a hallway, preparing to step through yellow tinsel into a packed auditorium for graduation day at Galena Interior Learning Academy. The school attracts around 200 students annually from across Alaska with its vocational training courses and cultural offerings, thereby increasing the village’s population and energy demands. The facility offers classes in sustainable energy, aviation, carpentry, and more. However, to function—especially during long, cold winters—it needs heat, which is provided by the biomass project.

Since 2016, trees (mainly paper birch) have been locally harvested and shredded into wood chips to fuel a large boiler plant on campus, offsetting approximately 100,000 gallons (about 380,000 liters) of diesel annually for both the school district and the city, according to Brad Scotton, a member of the Galena City Council and SEGA board member. This biomass plant is notable as one of the state’s first large-scale facilities and is the most rural in its category. The cost savings from using biomass have enabled the Galena City School District to hire certified professionals for trade jobs and maintain campus facilities, as district superintendent Jason R. Johnson noted. Moreover, it has fostered a local workforce and job opportunities that the village previously lacked. “It’s keeping the money that used to go outside within the community and providing meaningful jobs for people,” Scotton stated.

### A New Solar Farm to Reduce Diesel Dependency

In rural Alaska, the prices of many goods can be prohibitively high since they must be transported in. Galena consumes just under 400,000 gallons (1.5 million liters) of diesel annually to generate electricity, and a significant energy price hike around 2008 prompted the village to recognize the need for change. Scotton recalled when a gallon of diesel cost $1.64, only to later soar to $4.58 in subsequent years. At that wholesale rate, the city paid over $1.8 million to keep the lights on. “It was quite a shock to everyone’s system trying to operate with those elevated costs,” he reflected. This realization led the community to seek grants for building a solar array.

On an overcast May day, workers donned reflective safety vests as they installed rectangular panels on a metal grid in a field bordered by boreal forests. They were completing the nearly finished 1.5 megawatt solar farm that will connect to a battery system. Once operational, the community will be able to shut down its diesel engines and run entirely on clean, renewable energy during sunny summer days, with any excess power stored for nighttime, emergencies, or heating the local indoor pool. The solar array will allow for the diesel operation to be turned off for between 800 to 1,000 hours annually, equating to about 100,000 gallons (approximately 380,000 liters) saved. While the solar farm may not lower electricity bills, like the biomass plant, it aims to stabilize energy costs, redirecting those savings back into the community and providing work opportunities for residents such as Aaren Sommer.

Last year, the 19-year-old graduated from the academy, where he learned about solar energy, and now he is helping install the solar array. “That’s going to reduce diesel usage a whole bunch over at the power plant, which is going to help us out,” he said.

### Tribe Members Benefit from Energy-Efficient Homes

In addition to the solar farm and biomass project, the Louden Tribe is constructing new energy-efficient homes that will help members depend less on diesel. Some of the siding used in these homes is sourced from locally harvested wood. In November, the Huntington family moved into a new stilted house equipped with a solar-compatible roof, 13-inch (33-centimeter) walls, and 18 inches (46 centimeters) of insulation to keep the cold at bay. Previously, Huntington had spent $7,000 annually on diesel for heating, which was a substantial portion of his annual income.

The energy-efficient features of their new home are already yielding savings. The 300-gallon (1,130-liter) diesel tank Huntington filled before moving cost him roughly $2,400, and six months later, he still has unused fuel in the tank. The Huntingtons are among eight families the tribe has relocated to sustainable homes, with plans to hand over keys to three more this year. Kalke, SEGA’s general manager, is often asked what Galena produces. He used to reply simply, “education.” “But since 2016, you can say education, wood chips, and soon, solar energy,” he added.

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Pineda reported from Los Angeles. Associated Press journalist Alyssa Goodman in New York contributed to this report.

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