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Newest Cohort Is Program’s Largest But, With Broad Geographic Illustration
By Justin Daugherty, NLR
Distant and island communities face distinctive power challenges—however these challenges additionally current distinctive alternatives to extend power affordability, reliability, and safety.
Of their efforts to handle their power challenges, 38 coastal, distant, and island communities will obtain help as a part of the fifth cohort of the Power Expertise Innovation Partnership Challenge (ETIPP)—a U.S. Division of Power technical help program led by the Nationwide Laboratory of the Rockies (NLR), previously often known as NREL.
ETIPP connects chosen communities with nationwide power consultants who present technical evaluation, modeling, and determination help to determine power reliability and affordability options greatest suited to every neighborhood’s wants.
A number of new Gulf Coast and Nice Lakes communities have joined this system this yr, including to this system’s regional enlargement in 2024. The communities becoming a member of ETIPP’s fifth cohort strengthen this system’s presence throughout these areas, in addition to in Alaska, the Caribbean territories, Hawaii and the Pacific territories, the Northeastern Seaboard, the Pacific Northwest, and the Southeastern Seaboard.
“We’re lucky to have the ability to increase this system to so many communities this yr,” stated NLR’s Tessa Greco, ETIPP program supervisor. “The expansion of this system showcases its worth to coastal, distant, and island communities, whereas curiosity in this system highlights the power challenges so many communities face.”
Proposed tasks for Cohort 5 purpose to strengthen power programs in opposition to excessive climate occasions, discover choices for brand spanking new native era, design microgrids to guard in opposition to outages, discover power effectivity choices, and extra.
Communities within the early phases of power planning will spend 4–8 months in ETIPP creating a strategic power plan that clearly defines their power targets and targets. These becoming a member of ETIPP with an current power plan or well-defined mission will start a 12–24-month course of to research and validate particular power options.
A group of nationwide laboratory researchers and regional companion organizations will help ETIPP communities alongside the trail, irrespective of which monitor they take. Power consultants at 4 nationwide laboratories—Lawrence Berkeley Nationwide Laboratory, the Nationwide Laboratory of the Rockies, Pacific Northwest Nationwide Laboratory, and Sandia Nationwide Laboratories—work with communities to seek out options tailor-made to native power challenges. ETIPP communities additionally obtain help from regional companions, who construct connections between neighborhood members and the nationwide laboratory complicated and have the native data to make sure that tasks are assembly neighborhood wants.
In ETIPP’s first 4 cohorts, 57 communities analyzed dependable power options, resembling assessing localized power era and storage choices, optimizing current power programs, or analyzing power effectivity and weatherization choices for current infrastructure.
Be taught extra about ETIPP’s Cohort 5 communities and their deliberate tasks beneath.
ETIPP’s Fifth Cohort of Communities
Alaska Area
Adak, Alaska
Town of Adak, the southernmost neighborhood in Alaska, is strategically positioned as a nationwide protection website. ETIPP strategic power planning will assist Adak consider native, cost-effective choices that enhance the reliability, affordability, and safety of their power system because the neighborhood experiences financial funding, together with efforts to reopen a naval base.
Alaska Longline Fishermen’s Affiliation
The Sitka-based Alaska Longline Fishermen’s Affiliation (ALFA) represents the industrial seafood fishing trade, a key financial cornerstone for Southeast Alaska. Fishing is energy-intensive and infrequently depends on pricey imported diesel gasoline. ETIPP will collaborate with ALFA to judge power system enhancements and modern know-how choices to extend power effectivity, scale back power prices, and enhance the reliability of ALFA’s operations.
Bristol Bay, Alaska
Bristol Bay’s reliance on imported diesel gasoline makes the area susceptible to power instability, and high-profile gasoline leaks close to Bristol Bay have adversely affected the sockeye salmon trade, which is essential to the area’s financial system. ETIPP technical help will assist the area consider microgrid choices that combine native power era into current energy infrastructure to cut back the area’s reliance on costly diesel imports and enhance the reliability and safety of its power system.
Chilkat Indian Village, Klukwan, Alaska
The Chilkat Indian Village of Klukwan goals to create a strategic power plan that identifies reasonably priced power options and offers a basis for the long-term reliability and safety of their power system. ETIPP’s power planning course of will assist the neighborhood assess power use in each essential infrastructure and houses, determine alternatives to enhance power effectivity, and consider power era and storage choices that enhance security, scale back prices, and align with the Tribe’s conventional values.
Kotlik, Alaska
Via ETIPP strategic power planning, Kotlik recognized their power targets as lowering power prices, enhancing weatherization and power effectivity, and providing supportive neighborhood training and coaching. They’ll proceed constructing on this work by planning and establishing an impartial energy producer locally, assessing native era potential at key places, and planning for enhancements to grid infrastructure and storage.
Kotzebue, Alaska
Kotzebue has energy-inefficient housing and imports gasoline for each heating and electrical energy, leading to a number of the highest residence power prices in Alaska. The neighborhood developed a strategic power plan by ETIPP and can construct on it to judge alternatives for reducing power prices, increasing the impartial energy producer mannequin, incorporating pure gasoline era, enhancing bulk gasoline storage, implementing weatherization methods, and creating workforce coaching for residents.
Mary’s Igloo Native Company, Alaska
The Tribal neighborhood of Mary’s Igloo of Alaska is looking for to reestablish their conventional village at Mary’s Igloo, the place there can be found geothermal sources. ETIPP will help Mary’s Igloo Native Company by serving to them consider their power wants; set up a baseline power evaluation, together with geothermal sources characterization; map power infrastructure siting; and procure power planning sources for the neighborhood to make sure a dependable, safe power system.
Newtok, Alaska
Newtok, an Alaska Native village, will leverage ETIPP experience to replace and increase its strategic power plan to enhance the reliability and affordability of its power system. The up to date plan will assist Newtok make data-driven choices round native, cost-effective choices for power era, infrastructure upgrades, residential power use and administration, and methods for sustaining native power programs.
Scammon Bay, Alaska
Via ETIPP’s strategic power planning course of, Scammon Bay recognized its power targets, together with making electrical energy extra reasonably priced, rising out there localized power era to enhance reliability, and lowering electrical energy use. Work will proceed to judge native, community-owned era sources that scale back prices and improve power system effectivity and reliability. The neighborhood can even plan for workforce improvement applications to fulfill these targets.
Southeast Convention, Alaska
The Southeast Convention of Alaska includes 35 communities with 19 Tribes amongst them, and various communities within the area have relied on hydropower for a few years. Technical help from ETIPP will assist the area enhance its built-in useful resource plan, determine cost-effective alternatives for grid modernization, have interaction in community-driven useful resource planning, optimize provide and demand, and determine paths for regional alignment on power planning to enhance the reliability and safety of Southeast Alaska’s power system.
Caribbean Territories Area
La Margarita, Salinas, Puerto Rico
La Margarita, a coastal neighborhood in Salinas, Puerto Rico, depends on costly imported fuels and an unreliable, low-capacity native grid for electrical energy, resulting in excessive power prices and frequent outages for an already economically confused neighborhood. Earlier ETIPP technical help evaluated the feasibility of a microgrid to supply dependable energy throughout occasions of normal and excessive electrical energy demand. The neighborhood will construct on profitable mission outcomes to additional analyze integrating current distributed power sources right into a community, including redundancy to each the proposed microgrid and the native power grid, and gathering knowledge to enhance monitoring, reporting, and management throughout power belongings for improved reliability and safety.
Isabela, Puerto Rico
The municipality of Isabela is a coastal neighborhood in northwest Puerto Rico with mountainous terrain and a dispersed inhabitants, elements that complicate power infrastructure deployment and upkeep and make Isabela susceptible to outages that may final months and put essential wants in danger. ETIPP’s strategic power planning course of will assist Isabela assess present power infrastructure, map essential amenities which might be susceptible to outages, and determine choices for native power era to enrich Puerto Rico’s long-term centralization efforts.
Playa de Ponce, Puerto Rico
Via the ETIPP strategic power planning course of, Playa de Ponce recognized native, cost-effective options to strengthen power safety, improve security, and guarantee dependable entry to electrical energy. Though the neighborhood recurrently experiences water and energy outages, the realm additionally has a big variety of deserted brownfields that may very well be repurposed to handle these challenges. Collaboration with Playa de Ponce will proceed with a purpose to consider the potential for native power era on brownfield websites to supply constant energy for nighttime road lighting.
Nice Lakes Area
Benton Harbor, Michigan
Benton Harbor, Michigan, is a small neighborhood on Lake Michigan that faces challenges related to getting old power infrastructure and experiences frequent outages. The neighborhood has a federal poverty fee of 43% and falls within the ninety fifth percentile nationally for residential power price. ETIPP strategic power planning will assist Benton Harbor consider native, cost-effective power choices to decrease power payments, improve infrastructure, and increase power effectivity for a extra reasonably priced, dependable power system.
Gary, Indiana
Due to its proximity to Lake Michigan, Gary, Indiana, experiences elevated flooding dangers from heavy precipitation and storm surges that harm power infrastructure and depart the neighborhood in danger. Gary obtained strategic power planning help from ETIPP to conduct a baseline evaluation of power utilization and wishes at essential metropolis buildings and determine choices for on-site era to supply important neighborhood companies throughout outages. Constructing on this mission, Gary will leverage ETIPP technical experience to additional analyze on-site era feasibility at a number of essential amenities, mannequin power effectivity situations and retrofits, and collaborate with the native utility to determine superior metering methods to extra effectively detect and handle outages.
Grand Marais, Minnesota
Because the seat of Cook dinner County, Grand Marais, Minnesota, offers important companies and commerce for the remoted and sparsely populated county. Nonetheless, its reliance on a single transmission line makes the neighborhood susceptible to power disruptions. ETIPP will assist Grand Marais consider choices that scale back load stress on its present system, which is nearing capability, to enhance the system’s reliability and safety.
Lac Vieux Desert Band of Lake Superior Chippewa Indians, Watersmeet, Michigan
The Lac Vieux Desert Band of Lake Superior Chippewa Tribe in Watersmeet, Michigan, experiences power reliability challenges exacerbated by getting old buildings and infrastructure. ETIPP will carry out modeling and evaluation on microgrid and battery storage feasibility so as to add redundancy and enhance the reliability of the Tribe’s power system.
Menominee Indian Tribe of Wisconsin
The Menominee Tribe of Wisconsin resides on a distant, 234,355-acre reservation with getting old infrastructure. ETIPP will consider choices for integrating native power era into current infrastructure for a hybrid microgrid system, creating redundancy for extra dependable and safe power for the Tribe. Extra help will assess distribution system capability, present system modeling and monetary evaluation for microgrid and biomass tasks, and discover a market evaluation for income era from power belongings.
Cedar Key, Florida
Town of Cedar Key, Florida, will leverage ETIPP experience to judge native, cost-effective choices for enhancing the reliability and safety of its power system, specializing in sustaining essential companies, defending public security, and supporting financial continuity. Strategic power planning will assist Cedar Key assess its power infrastructure; determine alternatives for enhancing power system sturdiness throughout disruptions; analyze the fee, feasibility, and efficiency of various options; and information future decision-making round infrastructure upgrades and funding priorities.
St. Vincent’s Home, Galveston, Texas
Galveston’s isolation presents challenges for power supply and upkeep. ETIPP will collaborate with St. Vincent’s Home to conduct a vulnerability and danger evaluation of Galveston’s grid and transmission traces, consider native cost-effective choices for on-site power era at key neighborhood amenities to take care of essential companies for residents, assess choices for lowering power prices by constructing effectivity, and develop power protocols to make sure continuation of service throughout energy disruptions.
Key West, Florida
Key West, Florida’s southernmost level, is a low-lying island located on the finish of the utility line that has excessive power costs, a susceptible electrical energy distribution system, and energy-inefficient buildings, leading to a big burden for residents. Key West obtained strategic power planning help by ETIPP to conduct an power baseline evaluation and determine cost-effective alternatives for power effectivity and native power era to each scale back residents’ electrical energy payments and guarantee security throughout extended outages. Continued work will give attention to power effectivity methods, localized era choices, and demanding energy-water system upgrades to cut back prices and enhance the reliability of the ability system.
Sanibel Island, Florida
ETIPP will assist Sanibel Island, Florida, construct on ongoing power system analyses to develop a strategic power plan. This plan will consider native, cost-effective choices for enhancing the safety and reliability of its power system, together with methods for lowering the chance of energy outages, defending its electrical grid, and figuring out alternatives for power effectivity. Via ETIPP’s power planning course of, Sanibel Island goals to raised perceive pathways to enhance power reliability and use outcomes to tell decision-making and investments towards a dependable and safe power future.
Hawaii & Pacific Territories Area
American Samoa, together with Tutuila and Manua Islands
The American Samoa Division of Homeland Safety seeks help to cut back downtime and preserve the capabilities of essential emergency operations facilities and communication towers throughout pure catastrophe occasions. ETIPP will assist the division analyze outage frequency, consider on-site power era and storage choices, and supply steering for integrating on-site era with current mills to supply redundancy, reliability, and safety throughout outages.
Hawaii County, Hawaii
Within the occasion of extended energy disruptions, the county of Hawaii’s Division of Water Provide can not present potable water, so the division seeks paths to power reliability to strengthen the county’s water safety. ETIPP will assist the county analyze the power use and vulnerabilities of its consuming water system and assess cost-effective options to enhance its reliability, safety, and effectivity.
Hauula and Punaluu, Hawaii
Hauula and Punaluu are geographically remoted, that means that outages are frequent, as energy travels lengthy distances to achieve the communities by traces which might be susceptible to environmental harm. ETIPP will help Hauula and Punaluu in evaluating the feasibility and capability of on-site power era at key amenities to enhance the reliability and safety of their remoted energy system and be certain that essential companies proceed for neighborhood members throughout outages.
Wahiawa and Whitmore Villages, Oahu, Hawaii
Wahiawa and Whitmore villages, that are distant communities on Oahu, are fascinated about figuring out native, cost-effective power era and storage choices to cut back prices, together with from hydropower and pumped hydropower storage. ETIPP technical help will present hydrologic useful resource modeling, conceptual microgrid designs, and implementation methods to enhance the reliability and safety of Wahiawa’s and Whitmore’s power programs.
Waianae, Hawaii
Residents within the Waianae area of Hawaii pay roughly thrice the typical price of electrical energy in america and depend on an imported gasoline provide. Via ETIPP, Waianae developed a strategic power plan to determine potential options to help residents throughout emergencies and enhance the reliability and affordability of their power system. This system will proceed supporting Waianae’s targets for community-level reliability by evaluating localized era choices.
Northeastern Seaboard Area
Belfast, Maine
Because the seat of Waldo County, Belfast serves as a vital financial heart in midcoast Maine, however many of the metropolis’s electrical energy is transmitted by a single high-voltage line that’s more and more threatened by extreme storms. ETIPP strategic power planning will assist Belfast higher perceive its baseline electrical energy provide and demand, assess its power infrastructure, discover alternatives for power storage, and develop an motion plan to make sure a extra dependable, environment friendly, and reasonably priced power system.
Cranberry Isles, Maine
Cranberry Isles is made up of 5 separate islands, all reliant on an underwater cable for electrical energy. ETIPP technical experience will assist Cranberry Isles perceive microgrid feasibility and choices for integrating extra native power era to enhance power system redundancy and reliability, in addition to power effectivity methods to cut back prices and cargo.
Islesboro, Maine
The small island of Islesboro is dependent upon an getting old underwater cable for electrical energy from mainland Maine, and repair is regularly disrupted. The city requested ETIPP technical help to develop de-risked designs and implementation methods for an islandwide microgrid, consider native power era choices, develop grid improve options, and combine these efforts into an island power plan.
Wiscasset, Maine
The small, rural neighborhood of Wiscasset, Maine, has skilled practically 400 energy outages since January 2020. Taking part in strategic power planning with ETIPP will assist Wiscasset determine power system vulnerabilities and alternatives to boost reliability, discover backup era and storage choices for an emergency shelter, develop energy-efficient designs for deliberate essential infrastructure upgrades, present training on weatherization and power effectivity in properties, and place Wiscasset as a mannequin for small-town power innovation because it improves power reliability and safety.
Pacific Northwest Area
Confederated Tribes and Bands of the Yakama Nation, Washington
Strengthening the reliability of the native power distribution system and lowering power prices are priorities for the Yakama Nation. Participating in strategic power planning by ETIPP will assist the Tribes consider native, cost-effective choices to improve their power infrastructure and construct a roadmap for enhancing their power system’s affordability, reliability, and safety.
Hood River, Oregon
Hood River County, situated within the coronary heart of the Columbia River Gorge Nationwide Scenic Space, has not too long ago skilled extreme summer time warmth domes and wildfire danger, resulting in energy outages and driving up power prices. ETIPP will help Hood River’s objective of power reliability and affordability by an financial influence evaluation of varied energy disruption situations, a microgrid feasibility examine, and a loan-fund analysis for pursuing their power plan.
Port Orford, Oregon
Port Orford is a small fishing port alongside Oregon’s southern coast, and the port is the neighborhood’s main financial driver. On account of its excessive elevation, the port is dependent upon electrical energy to energy a specific boat slip and crane that raises and lowers boats to and from the dock. Storms usually lead to energy outages on the port, halting operations and leaving fishermen with no secure strategy to return to shore. Port Orford beforehand obtained strategic power planning help from ETIPP. Constructing on profitable outcomes from the power planning course of, ETIPP will help a design examine for backup energy choices, consider and handle issues of safety, carry out an effectivity and vessel electrification examine for the boat slip, and discover desalination in its place supply of water.
Swinomish Indian Tribal Neighborhood, Washington
The Swinomish Tribe participated in strategic power planning by ETIPP to develop actionable steps towards their power targets, have interaction and educate the neighborhood, and create workforce improvement alternatives. The work will proceed with a siting and feasibility examine of localized era and power storage applied sciences, an analysis of potential fishing vessel electrification alternatives, and an evaluation of power effectivity and financial savings alternatives for Tribal neighborhood members to cut back power prices and enhance the reliability and safety of their power system.
Shoalwater Bay Indian Reservation, Tokeland, Washington
Because the Shoalwater Bay Indian Tribe prepares to relocate its emergency service amenities, administrative places of work, and housing away from a tsunami inundation zone to larger floor, they’re concurrently working to develop an power plan that mitigates hazards and helps long-term development. ETIPP strategic power planning will assist the Tribe assess danger to present and future power belongings, discover native era and storage potential, and interact neighborhood members to enhance the reliability and safety of their power system.
Southeastern Seaboard Area
Brunswick, Georgia
Brunswick, Georgia, residents face financial hardships exacerbated by excessive power prices, so the town is prioritizing coastal power reliability, stormwater administration, and infrastructure enhancements. To help the neighborhood’s targets, ETIPP will assist consider choices for on-site power era to cut back power prices and enhance power system reliability.
Tangier Island, Virginia
Tangier Island, Virginia, experiences important land loss, erosion, flooding, and saltwater intrusion, all of which negatively have an effect on the Chesapeake Bay island’s power infrastructure and water provide. Via ETIPP, Tangier Island obtained strategic power planning help to determine an power baseline and determine key power infrastructure and effectivity wants. ETIPP will proceed supporting the island to determine and implement weatherization methods for inefficient buildings and the essential wastewater remedy plant, resolve residential water leaks, and scale back power use and prices on the island’s highest-consumption amenities.
ETIPP is a community-led technical help program for coastal, distant, and island communities to entry distinctive options and improve power resilience. By uniting federal companies, nationwide laboratories, regional organizations, and neighborhood stakeholders, ETIPP offers tailor-made technical help to assist communities obtain reasonably priced, dependable options to their power system challenges. This collaborative mannequin leverages the mixed experience and sources of its companions to ship complete, sensible options that align with native wants.
To be taught extra about program eligibility and the applying course of, go to NLR’s ETIPP web site or contact ETIPP@nrel.gov.
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