The Hunter 2016 May/June Issue | Page 4

NANA NANA focuses on energy in the region Students from the Alaska Sister School Exchange Program from Buckland and Palmer High School presented their community action plan on renewable energy sources at the Rural Energy Conference. (back l to r) Teachers Suzanne Gerhardt (Palmer) and Alison Jech (Buckland), students Sarah Washington (Buckland), Lee Hadley (Buckland), and Bradley Thomas (Buckland). (front l to r) Students Rya Whittington-Evans (Palmer), Kylah Melton (Buckland), and Nita Thomas (Buckland). T he cost of a single gallon of stove oil in Ambler, Alaska, last April was as high as $11. Despite low oil prices in the rest of the state of Alaska and the world, the NANA region is still locked-in to higher energy costs impacted by the summer barging season and the region’s geographic position. NANA is working with state and federal agencies to acquire funding and resources for current and upcoming rural energy projects. As part of that effort, NANA Energy staff participated in the Alaska Rural Energy Conference in Fairbanks, Alaska, in April to focus on emerging energy technologies, learn about grant options for current and future proje