JUNEAU, Alaska (AP) — The Alaska Energy Authority will be installing 14 biomass boiler projects this year, and six of those projects will share $20 million from the state’s Renewable Energy Fund.
The six projects are located in Galena, Kake, Ketchikan, Haines, Minto, and Yakutat. Eight more boilers make up a second tier of the organization’s to-do list.
“These projects have been in development for a number of years,” said AEA biomass project manager Devany Plentovich.
Plentovich made the announcement Wednesday during a presentation to the state Board of Forestry on the increase of biomass energy use in the state and new Environmental Protection Agency proposals affecting Alaska’s biomass boilers.
Biomass boilers are built to heat one or more buildings. They can be stoked with cord wood, wood chips or wood pellets and have become popular with the rise of heating oil prices.
