Do you need help with an energy project in your community? This program can help!
The Arctic Energy Ambassadors program will provide training and support to develop regional energy leadership in the state for selected, experienced practitioners (“Energy Ambassadors”) to improve energy security across Alaska’s Arctic region and beyond. Through deployment of energy projects and support for grant applications and technical assistance, the U.S. Department of Energy is delivering resources and partnership for the Arctic region, aligned with the DOE Arctic Strategy.
The Arctic Energy Ambassadors will help ensure that these resources are shared widely with the Arctic regions in Alaska to tap into these programs, answer questions, and prepare for clean energy transitions in their communities to combat the climate crisis and build climate resilience.
The Arctic Energy Ambassadors program is led by the Arctic Energy Office, in partnership with the Denali Commission, Alaska Municipal League, and with additional funding from the Office of Energy Efficiency and Renewable Energy and the Office of State and Community Energy Programs.
PROGRAM GOALS
- Articulate community and regional energy needs through a cohort of local champions.
- Connect stakeholders and promote professional and regional capacity development through ongoing DOE training and engagement.
- Provide regional technical assistance to advance project development.
- Develop regional or statewide projects, with solutions to energy issues that could be replicated throughout the Arctic.
- Vet projects through an online project clearinghouse/portal for energy community funding sources including federal, State, and local/private sector opportunities with the Alaska Municipal League.
AMBASSADOR ROLE
Ambassadors are passionate, community-focused communicators from Alaska’s Arctic territories serving a two-year term as an Arctic Energy Ambassador for the U.S. Department of Energy.
BACKGROUND
Originally conceived in 2014 under the DOE Office of Indian Energy Policy and Programs, the Alaska Energy Ambassadors Program developed regional energy leadership in the state through deployment of energy projects and support for grant applications and technical assistance. However, the program was limited to tribal stakeholders, had low-level funding, and focused on grants. The Arctic Energy Office (AE) seeks to reinvigorate this program to include all Alaska stakeholders and develop an Arctic Energy Office-led network of energy leaders to help move the state towards sustainable and impactful projects that could be supported by DOE programs or other federal funding sources, the State of Alaska, or private sector partners.
