HomeMy WebLinkAbout8g Letter of Support Nenana Urban FarmSeptember 19, 2013
Shawn Calfa, Grant Manager
Alaska Energy Authority
813 West Northern Lights Blvd. Anchorage, AK 99503
Dear Mr. Calfa,
We have been active participants from the beginning in Nenana's attempt to create a biomass
project. Both as individuals, as a family, and as members of the Wellness In Nenana (WIN)
Coalition, we have lobbied for the Nenana Collaborative Biomass Heating System Project and
spoken to anyone and everyone we feel may be able to further this project.
It is our belief that without developing multiple alternative renewable energy sources, the villages of
rural/remote Alaska will die ---some slowly and some quickly. We cannot afford to wait for larger
systems such as the extractive fuel industry to come to the understanding that petroleum, coal and
natural gas are not tenable fuel sources any longer. We must move forward immediately identifying
and developing wind, water, solar and bio-fuel sources and systems. Once in place, these will be
eagerly utilized and new energy systems will thrive.
Members of the wellness coalition have been looking at this matter for at least five years. We have
taken time from our busy lives and gone out of our way, with our own sometimes meager resources,
to see other biomass projects. We have held community discussions and workshops exploring this
option. It is our consensus that the project is doable. Biomass is completely renewable; if there is
one thing we have plenty of around here, it is dead and dying wood!
We are united in our desire to create a biomass system to heat our facilities. The tribe, the city, the
school and various businesses in Nenana are working together to bring this project to fruition. If we
are to remain an economically viable community, we understand that we must reduce our
dependence on resources that are decreasing in supply and increasing in cos. We must shift to
utilizing renewable energy resources. The biomass project is our first great step forward. Best of all,
it is an opportunity for our community to work together towards our collective good.
We cannot urge you strongly enough to support this project. Please feel free to contact us if you
have questions or input.
Kat McElroy
Leon McElroy
David Poppe
Nenana Urban Farm
(907) 832-1078