Federal officials have approved the final installation and operation of a river marine renewable energy project in the Bristol Bay area village of Igiugig, under a pilot permit.
The announcement on June 5 came from Sen. Lisa Murkowski, R-Alaska, who said the project would reduce local diesel consumption and energy prices.
The first-of-its-kind RivGen Power System project is scheduled for installation later this summer once permits are approved by the Alaska Departments of Fish and Game and Natural Resources, and Alaska Lake and Peninsula Borough.
“Igiugig’s efforts are blazing a trail for marine renewable energy and microgrid solutions around the world,” Murkowski said. “When we prove these technologies can work in rural Alaska, we are proving they can work just about anywhere else on the planet,” she said.
Igiugig, with a predominantly Yupik Eskimo, Aleut and Athabascan Indian population of just 50 noted in the 2010 census, lies at the mouth of the Kvichak River on Lake Iliamna.
The project will produce emission-free electricity by converting river current energy into a reliable source of electricity, the senator said. The Igiugig Village Corp. is the first tribal entity in the nation to gain this approval. The village corporation and the Ocean Renewable Power Co., based in Portland, Maine, have collaborated on the MRE project for a decade.FERC approval came through the agency’s pilot license process, which was established to encourage development of innovative hydrokinetic technology while ensuring appropriate environmental monitoring is in place, Murkowski said.
