The plunge in oil prices has caused some lawmakers to question the state’s ambitious investments in renewable energy, but Palin and others argue it is critical to push ahead. The Alaska Energy Authority released a hefty report last month assessing the feasibility of alternative energy projects in every rural community in the state. The authority also recommended grants for 72 renewable energy projects around the state, including an expansion of the wind farm in Toksook Bay.
Village residents, who are still paying high prices because of the spike in fuel costs last summer, like that idea.
“Jobs are scarce,” said Francis Sipary, assistant manager at the Nunakauiak Yupik Corp store, “and members can’t afford to pay so much dollars the way the economy’s going.”
Sipary, who like many people in Alaska hunts and fishes, added that the turbines were nice for another reason.
They are the tallest thing on the landscape and can be seen from a boat 32km at sea, so the people of Toksook Bay now use the wind turbines to find their way home.
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