HomeMy WebLinkAbout8i Letter of Supportr Paul VerhagenSeptember 19, 2013
Shawn Calfa, Grant Manager
Alaska Energy Authority
813 West Northern Lights Blvd.
Anchorage, AK 99503
Dear Mr. Calfa,
I wrote to you last year sharing with you my support for the Nenana Collaborative Biomass Heating
System Project and do so again this year.
I have been very interested in alternative and renewable energy for many years and am amazed that so
many people do not look forward to see what our future could hold but rather continue on with what they
call the "tried and true" systems of the past. They do this in spite of ample evidence that such systems
may have been "true" during their time but are fast becoming death sentences for many of our villages
as the ever -escalating costs are making it all but impossible to live in such villages in any kind of a
lifestyle than pure subsistence (due to the disappearance of jobs, businesses closing up, and entire
families moving away).
Not only is the cost of fuel continuously rising but everything that is transported must unavoidably rise
with it. Thus a gallon of gas and a gallon of milk cost $10 - $15 in parts of our state.
There is no single solution to this problem. Many solutions are being tried but in my opinion this
approach is certainly one of several that should be implemented. Not because there is anything truly
'new' about it but for that very reason. It is completely doable, it is completely renewable, and it would
demonstrate that many sectors of a community can unite together to heat their facilities for considerably
less regardless of the continuing escalation of fuel oil prices. It would be another success story to point
to as a model for other schools and communities to follow.
In conclusion it reduces our dependence on a resource that is decreasing in supply and increasing in cost.
It utilizes a renewable resource that is locally available and, when properly managed, will always be locally
available, and could help keep our forests less susceptible to fire or beetle damage. And By design it will
provide employment for local residents possessing a range of job skills from minimal (i.e. woodcutting), to
specialized (i.e. plant management) and several positions between, - not including construction jobs as the
facility is being built.
I strongly urge you to support this project.
Sincerely,
Paul Verhagen
Box 563
Nenana, AK 99760
907-378-5454