In 2005, residents of the Native Village of Fort Yukon were seeking a better, less costly way to heat the village’s common buildings and shared water system. At that time, leaders of the 600-person community eight miles north of the Arctic Circle began researching more efficient fuel options than diesel or fuel oil for their village, which is accessible by boat during the summer but only via snowmobiles and airplanes in the winter.

Initially, they were considering adding only a small boiler for the Fort Yukon School, which serves preschoolers through seniors in high school. "We have learned quite a bit since that first discussion," said Frannie Hughes, Gwitchyaa Zhee ("People of the Flats") Corporation Chief Operating Officer. "It took a lot of work, but we are breaking new trails."

By visiting other communities, Hughes said they learned that using spruce as a source of firewood can lead to costly boiler repairs when pitch from the spruce forms rocklike "clinkers" that jam machinery. They also found out about sustainable ways to manage timber on their lands to allow natural regrowth. Over time, Fort Yukon settled on a larger-scale project featuring a combined heat and power (CHP) system to generate electricity and useful thermal energy in a single, integrated system.

In 2007, the U.S. Department of Energy's (DOE’s) Tribal Energy Program funded the Council of Athabascan Tribal Governments (CATG)—a regional consortium of 10 Gwich'in and Koyukon Athabascan Tribes—with a $150,000 grant to support a feasibility study for a regional wood energy program to displace diesel fuel in the Yukon Flats Region. The following year, the Fort Yukon Gwitchyaa Zhee Native Corporation partnered directly with CATG on a large-scale village biomass and economic development project, securing more than $9 million in funding from multiple sources, including DOE, the Alaska Renewable Energy Fund (REF) managed by the Alaska Energy Authority, the Denali Commission, and the U.S. Department of Agriculture Rural Utility Service.

A $1.2 million DOE grant was earmarked for the purchase and installation of wood boilers at various sites, with the initial goal of displacing up to 90% of the fuel oil used for heating the school and gym, the new clinic and University of Alaska building, and the Voc Ed building. Funding from the REF and the Denali Commission supported development of the infrastructure needed to harvest, deliver, and store the wood—a key to the project’s success. Nearly a third of the $9 million in total project funding went to project planning, training, and permitting.

The final plan resulted in what Hughes believes to be the first known off-grid, off-road biomass CHP project. It will feature a new powerhouse with a wood chip boiler—burning hardwood such as abundant cottonwood and birch trees, and will incorporate a district heating loop to provide heat to not only school buildings, but also to the radio station and water plant, among other sites. Integral to the project’s long-term success are sustainable forest management and support training for forestry technicians.

In 2014, the first biomass harvests began as Fort Yukon started stockpiling wood for an anticipated 2017 completion of the CHP project. Last year, work began on the powerhouse foundation, and structural work is scheduled for this year after spring thaws. Once the system is operational, among the greatest beneficiaries will be the elementary, secondary, and university school facilities—affecting an estimated 250 students and staff.

"This should help the affordability of education—and benefit our future," Hughes said. Further, upgrades will boost the performance and efficiency of the circulating water system, which has to withstand temperatures as low as -60°F.

"DOE has been very helpful and supportive of our project," Hughes said, expressing appreciation for the guidance and technical assistance DOE staff offered as village leaders pressed ahead. "It was a very good learning atmosphere."

"This will be a big deal for us," she said, adding that its reach will extend beyond Fort Yukon. Hughes expects to reach out to smaller hub villages and exchange information with other remote villages seeking renewable energy projects such as theirs. "We want them to know they don't have to reinvent the wheel," she said. "This project will be good for us, and the entire state of Alaska. It makes us feel very proud."

-Written by Ernie Tucker