February ended with both good news and very sad news for the Alaskan energy community.

We are sorry to report that Dan Salmon, our Energy Advisory Committee member from Igiugig died of injuries received in a plane crash near Tyonek on February 28th. He was the pilot and only occupant of the plane. Here is the link to his obituary. Dan was a very successful and articulate advocate for Igiugig and the Lake & Penn region, and we will miss his input to the committee.

On a happier note, Alaska Village Electric Cooperative (AVEC) was selected as the Wind Cooperative of the Year for 2007! This award is given annually by the US Department of Energy in partnership with the National Rural Electric Cooperative Association. AVEC was recognized for leadership, demonstrated success and innovation in its wind power program. Two of AVEC 's projects cited in the award were Toksook Bay and Kasigluk, where their Northwind 100/20 wind turbines are supplying up to 25% of the two communities ' annual electric power needs.

The Commissioners in February recommended no changes to the our Draft Work Plan for FY8: Funding for the energy program is $10 million for legacy bulk fuel and power upgrades (from the statewide deficiency lists), up to $9 million for alternative renewable energy projects, about $4 million from the TAPL funds which can only be spent on bulk fuel, and an undetermined amount from USDA Rural Utility Service high energy cost grant funds. Although this is less than we have had available in recent years, we will continue our priority energy projects at a slightly slower pace, while increasing our role in alternative renewable energy projects.

The two Requests for Proposals (RFPs) we issued jointly with the Alaska Energy Authority (AEA) closed in February with a very high level of interest. The fifth Energy Cost Reduction RFP received 24 proposals for over $11 million in projects. The Alternative Renewable Energy RFP received an amazing 96 proposals for both pre-construction and construction projects! The initial review of the proposals to determine if they meet the criteria will be completed the first week of March. Qualifying proposals will then be evaluated on both technical and economics. A list of the proposals received and the evaluation procedures are available on the AEA website. The first grants under this new program should be made by late May. Because there was such great interest in this RFP, and we received additional funding for alternative-renewable energy projects, we expect to issue a similar RFP again this year.

Two other energy program opportunities close this month: USDA-Rural Utilities Service has announced another funding opportunity for High Energy Cost grants. There is $6.8 million available for competitive grants under this Notice of Funds Available (NOFA), with proposals due by March 28th. You can find more information and the applications at RUS NOFA. The State of Alaska Department of Commerce Community and Economic Development (DCCED) has an RFP for Bulk Fuel and Electric Utility Business Training, which also closes on March 28th. This RFP can be found here.