Alaska Natives Benefit from First-Ever Community Energy Development Workshop

As Alaska Native villages prepared for winter and the intensified energy challenges the season will bring, DOE’s Office of Indian Energy (DOE-IE) and DOE’s Office of Energy Efficiency and Renewable Energy Tribal Energy Program co-hosted a workshop focused on solutions to those challenges.

Held in Anchorage, Alaska, on October 16 and 17, the Renewable Energy and Energy Efficiency for Alaska Native Community Development workshop was designed to help Alaska tribal leaders and staffs understand the range of energy efficiency and renewable energy opportunities that exist in their communities.

“We were pleased that we could offer a workshop focused specifically on the challenges and opportunities for Alaska Tribes,” said Lizana Pierce, Mechanical Engineer and Senior Project Manager for the Tribal Energy Program. “The workshop was intended as a forum to share knowledge and experiences on clean energy options for Alaska. It included presentations by Tribes and tribal organizations on their clean energy projects and panels of experts on workforce development and building green, technology options, financing and funding opportunities, and other resources."

The workshop, which was intended to benefit Alaska Native entities on both a local and regional level, drew a broad spectrum of more than 100 participants throughout the state, from village councils to regional housing authorities and Native corporations and nonprofits.

“Rural Alaska is facing an energy crisis that makes rural community and regional economic development very difficult,” said Sonny Adams of NANA Regional Corporation (NANA), who spoke about the collaborative role NANA and other regional Native corporations have to play in project coordination and crisis management. “Meaningful solutions to this crisis are coming through public-private partnerships, and this forum contributed to an important dialogue in that regard.”

In addition to providing in-depth information on potential renewable energy and energy efficiency technology solutions, the workshop featured case studies and panel discussions on specific projects that are under way in Alaska Native villages.

Workshop attendees heard from state and federal energy experts from the Alaska Energy Authority, the Denali Commission, NANA, DOE-IE, the Tribal Energy Program, the National Renewable Energy Laboratory (NREL), and other agencies and organizations on topics ranging from village energy planning to energy project financing. Through guided panel discussions, they also had the unique opportunity to learn and benefit from the direct experience of a few of the Alaska Native villages that were selected to participate in the Strategic Technical Assistance Response Team (START) program. Through START, which is funded by DOE-IE and the Denali Commission in Alaska, DOE-IE is providing those villages with direct technical assistance designed to move their energy projects from concept to deployment at an accelerated pace, while also building local capacity to maintain and manage the projects over the long term.

“START is focused on providing villages with a pathway to take the concept of an energy project all the way through the development process and installation,” said DOE-IE Deputy Director Pilar Thomas, who kicked off the workshop with a broad overview of the strategic energy planning process and how it is embedded in the community project development process. “Sometimes that can seem very complex and unapproachable, and the purpose of the workshop was to break it down so Alaska villages have a clear understanding of not only the project development cycle but also the various project financing opportunities, including private financing options, that are available to them.”

In the guided discussion that followed, panelists from the Native villages of Kassan, Teller, and Quinhagak shared project successes and lessons learned, providing a glimpse into how the village energy planning and project development process Thomas described is working in practice.

“At the local level, strategic energy planning is a fundamental first step for a community to prioritize which projects will provide the most benefit,” said START team member Alex Dane of NREL, who moderated the panel discussion on “Native Village Energy Planning and Community Project Development Principles.” “START’s approach to strategic energy planning has come in response to a number of questions, such as ‘What should it look like in action and how can the process be replicated,’ ‘How have energy issues affected each village,’ ‘How can START help convene the right stakeholders into the room,’ and ‘How can the energy planning process that DOE developed and has used elsewhere, but is now tailoring to Alaska Native villages, serve as an effective tool for the villages?’” By talking openly about their projects, said Dane, the panelists provided answers to those questions and many more.

One project development challenge Alaska Native villages face, Dane explained, is ensuring that there are members of the community who are trained and employed for the ongoing operation and maintenance of projects once deployed, especially in cases where outside entities go in, install a project, and then leave. “The likelihood of lasting success for renewable energy projects is significantly decreased if there’s no training around their ongoing operation,” said Dane. “Success depends on community support and ownership of the project—how it works, how to maintain it.” Noting that START is focused on addressing that challenge and others, Dane said the panel discussion he led included “some good brainstorming on how existing and future infrastructure can be better maintained if there’s a more proactive approach to ensuring local capacity through technical training at the regional and local levels.”

Project financing is another challenge Alaska Native villages and corporations face in getting energy projects off the ground, Dane said, pointing to the significant role the Tribal Energy Program has played in providing grant funding for feasibility studies and projects that have enabled Alaska Native entities to make renewable energy a reality. Through START, said Dane, DOE-IE and the Denali Commission are on a mission to help the villages take that project development support one step further by understanding, exploring, and pursuing financing options beyond the traditional grant funding that has laid the foundation for many tribal energy projects in Alaska.

The workshop culminated with a panel discussion moderated by Thomas on “Resources for Community Energy Development,” which covered energy policy, intertribal organizations, regional corporations, education, and financing. In discussing funding and partnership opportunities in Alaska, panelist Joel Neimeyer of the Denali Commission offered a big-picture view of why energy, as the common denominator of all infrastructure at the village level, is a critical community-wide issue for Alaska Natives. Noting that everything—from transportation, electricity, heating, and water, to sanitation and health care services—depends on energy and energy efficiency, Niemeyer underscored the importance of addressing energy challenges proactively.

“The cost of energy (both electricity and heat) has increased threefold in the past 10 years for rural Alaska villages,” said Neimeyer. “Many families are finding that they are spending up to 45% of their monthly income to pay heating, electricity, and sanitation bills. I believe the workshop was successful in identifying strategies and tools for rural Alaska villages to address high energy costs. For me the highlight was learning more about energy tax credits and the opportunities for private businesses to leverage the existing U.S. tax code to invest in rural Alaska energy projects.”

Download the presentations from this workshop.

Learn more about the DOE-IE START Program in Alaska.

Miller sues over spelling as Alaska write-in vote count continues - MiamiHerald.com

Votes that misspell Lisa Murkowski's name shouldn't count as the state today tallies write-in ballots in the U.S. Senate race, Senate candidate Joe Miller said in a federal lawsuit Tuesday.

Miller is asking a judge to stop the state from making a judgment on a voter's intentions if the voter wrote in something other than "Murkowski" or "Lisa Murkowski." State law allows no leeway for other spellings, his lawsuit says.

Despite the lawsuit, the state is preparing this morning to start checking and counting the more than 92,000 write-in ballots cast in last week's election. Gail Fenumiai, the state's elections director, said she plans to start this counting at 9 a.m.

The state counted about 27,000 absentee and early votes Tuesday, according to Fenumiai, with Miller gaining on the write-in total by about 2,100 votes. At the end of the day, Miller remained 11,333 behind the write-in total.

At the beginning of the day, Miller had been trailing by 13,439 votes.

The Murkowski campaign reacted to Tuesday's lawsuit by accusing Miller of trying to toss out legitimate votes for the eight-year incumbent. "They're trying to discount as many votes as possible from Alaskans," Murkowski campaign manager Kevin Sweeney said.

Miller's lawyer, Tom Van Flein, is asking a federal judge for a hearing this afternoon.

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Alaska Senate race could be 'highest stakes spelling bee' - CNN International

Sen. Lisa Murkowski thanks supporters Tuesday in Anchorage. It's unclear if she will be heading back to Washington next year.Votes for write-in candidates outnumbered those for Joe Miller and Scott McAdamsSen. Lisa Murkowski is one of 161 eligible write-in candidates"Lisa Murkowski has no claim on a victory," Miller campaign saysAlaska's count of write-in votes expected to begin next week in Senate race

(CNN) -- An unyielding and exuberant Sen. Lisa Murkowski thanked her supporters on election night as she appeared headed to a once-improbable victory in Alaska's Senate contest.

Just two months ago, the incumbent Republican conceded her party's primary to little-known Tea Party-backed Joe Miller. Shortly after, Murkowski dove into the middle of Republican infighting by launching a write-in bid to retain her seat.

Party leaders criticized her decision. Former Alaska Gov. Sarah Palin, who endorsed Miller, called Murkowski's revived campaign "a futile effort on her part." The last U.S. senator to win on a write-in campaign was Strom Thurmond in 1954.

"They said it couldn't be done," Murkowski told CNN as the results came in late Tuesday. "We looked at that, and we said if it can be done anywhere, it can be done in Alaska, and let's prove the rest of the country wrong."

Aware of the intricacies of a write-in win, Murkowski cautioned that "we're not done yet. There's still a lot out more there; we know that."

The votes for write-in candidates outnumbered those for both Miller and Scott McAdams, the Democratic candidate.

But the outcome of the general election might not be known for days because officials need to determine which write-in votes actually went to Murkowski.

She was one of 161 people who filed the paperwork necessary to qualify as a write-in candidate, according to the Alaska Division of Elections.

As of Wednesday night, with 78 percent of precincts reporting, the write-in candidates were leading the pack with 41 percent of the vote. Miller had 34 percent, and McAdams trailed with 24 percent.

CNN has projected that the Democratic candidate will finish in third place but has not yet called the race for Murkowski or Miller.

Despite Murkowski's excitement, Miller's campaign remained optimistic Wednesday, saying, "This campaign is not over!"

"Previous write-in campaigns in Alaska have demonstrated that as much as 5 [percent] to 6 percent of returned ballots have not met the standard to be counted as a valid vote," the campaign said in a statement.

"Candidates who mount a write-in campaign opt for an uphill battle. At this point, without a single write-in ballot counted, Lisa Murkowski has no claim on a victory."

Another fellow Alaskan running as a write-in is Lisa M. Lackey, whose presence on the ballot may complicate things for Murkowski.

Under state law, for a write-in vote to be valid, the name written on the ballot must match the name as it is listed on the write-in candidate's declaration of candidacy. In Murkowski's case, the law requires her supporters to write "Lisa Murkowski" or "Murkowski" for the vote to be counted.

However, in the event a voter misspells or abbreviates a candidate's name, such as "Lisa M." instead of "Lisa Murkowski," the Division of Elections would determine the voter's intent "on a case-by-case basis," according to division director Gail Fenumiai.

With two potential "Lisa M's" as write-in candidates, determining the intent of a voter who writes in "Lisa M." on his or her ballot would be much more difficult.

Matt Felling, an anchor for KTVA-TV in Anchorage, said the race could prove to be the "highest stakes spelling bee in American political history."

"Now we are going to find out how many people can put nine letters together that somewhat resemble Murkowski," he told CNN.

Miller's campaign blasted the Division of Elections' standards as "extraordinarily ambiguous."

On election nights, the Division of Elections tabulates the total number of write-in votes cast -- not a breakdown by candidate.

The Division of Elections only calculates the number of write-in votes for specific candidates if the total number of write-in votes cast is more than the number of votes received for any candidate, or if the total number of write-in votes comes in a close second to the top vote-getter.

Before the Division of Elections can start tabulating the write-in votes for specific candidates, all of the ballots cast have to be counted, including absentee ballots, early votes and questioned ballots.

The lieutenant governor's office and the Division of Elections plan to count all absentee ballots next Tuesday and move on to the hand count of the write-in votes the following day. The count of the write-in ballots is expected to take about three days.

The count was moved up from the original date of November 18 to provide election results in "a timely manner," according to Renee Limoge, spokeswoman for Alaska Lt. Gov. Craig Campbell.

With a victory, Murkowski would avenge her August primary loss to Miller in the latest chapter of a feud with his main backers and her long-standing tension with Palin.

Murkowski was first appointed to her post by her father, then-Gov. Frank Murkowski in 2002. Palin defeated him in the 2006 GOP gubernatorial primary.

CNN's Drew Griffin, Jason Hanna and Robert Yoon contributed to this report.

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In Alaska, 'Write-In' Leads, Giving Murkowski Hope - New York Times

“They said you can’t do it, you can’t win a write-in campaign, not in Alaska, not anywhere,” Ms. Murkowski told supporters here late Tuesday night as “Write-In Votes” led in the vote count. “Do they know Alaska?”

“No!” the response came roaring back from the crowd.

At the same time, Robert Campbell, Mr. Miller’s campaign manager said: “We’re pretty confident Senator Murkowski’s going to get some of the write-in votes. It’s also possible Spiderman will get some, too.”

It may be weeks before all those write-in ballots are manually opened and read and it is known whether Ms. Murkowski pulled off the upset of the night. If Ms. Murkowski succeeds, her victory will be counted pretty much everywhere as a loss for Ms. Palin, a leading light of the Tea Party movement who will have failed to put her chosen candidate, Mr. Miller, over the top in her home state.

The outcome of the race here will not affect the balance of power in the United States Senate. The Democrats will keep enough seats to maintain control whatever happens, and it appeared on Wednesday that Scott McAdams, the Democrat in the race here, would most likely not be in the running.

But, as the denouement of the latest chapter in a family feud between the Murkowskis and the Palins, the drama playing out in Alaska continued to attract national attention.

The Murkowski campaign had used unconventional means to wage her unconventional campaign — from wristbands to homespun jingles and omnipresent advertisements showing how to spell her name. Now lawyers from both Republican campaigns are standing by to contest ballots. The only standard that Alaskan voting authorities have announced is the ability to determine “voter intent.”

As the lead for “Write-In Votes” expanded through the night, Ms. Murkowski was swarmed. She grinned. She laughed. She hugged. She pumped her fists. She embraced her husband and two teenage sons, one of whom wore a campaign T-shirt that said, “Too legit to quit.”

On the eve of the election, the Murkowski campaign sent out an e-mail noting that the San Francisco Giants had just won the World Series — and that the last time the team had won the series was in 1954, the same year Strom Thurmond became the first senator — and the only, so far — to win election as a write-in.

With 99 percent of precincts reporting, the write-in category had 41 percent of the vote compared with 34 percent for Mr. Miller. Mr. McAdams had 24 percent of the vote.

Ms. Murkowski’s campaign staff had said earlier that if the write-in category won about 40 percent of the vote, they would feel confident that the senator would ultimately win — and survive any legal challenges that might be brought by her opponents. It could be weeks before the state verifies the names entered as write-in votes. Thousands of absentee ballots and other ballots remain to be counted.

“We’re very happy with the position we’re in,” said Kevin Sweeney, Ms. Murkowski’s campaign manager.

Mr. Miller told his supporters that the race was not over, then left his election party with his family relatively early in the night. He did not appear at the Egan Center in downtown Anchorage, where candidates of various parties traditionally meet after their individual parties to watch results and do television interviews. His campaign said he would wait for all ballots to be counted and verified.

Elections officials have said that they would not verify names entered by write-in votes until Nov. 18, after the two-week window during which absentee ballots are accepted. As much as 10 percent of the ballots cast could be absentee. Absentee ballots must be postmarked by Election Day.

Mr. Miller suffered from a string of setbacks in the final weeks of the campaign, including revelations that he had been disciplined in a previous job for using government computers for political purposes and then lying about it. At one point, security guards he had hired for a campaign event handcuffed a reporter who tried to ask Mr. Miller about the disciplinary action.

Ms. Palin headlined a rally for Mr. Miller last week but she offered no comment about the race Tuesday night on her customary platforms, Twitter and Facebook. She spent the evening in New York, working for Fox News, while voters in her home state appeared to ignore her emphatic appeals to oust Ms. Murkowski.

The strong showing by the senator was also measure of vindication for her father, Frank H. Murkowski, who was among those celebrating.

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