The goal of the Collaborative is to leverage federal funds to strategically reduce emissions from the most polluting diesel sources in impacted communities. The Collaborative seeks to improve air quality and public health by targeting the highest polluting engines with the most cost-effective control strategies. State DERA 2020: Alaska Energy Authority - FY20 Alaska Clean Diesel Project Under the Diesel Emission Reduction Act (DERA), the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) awarded the Alaska Energy Authority a $491,217 grant with Fiscal Year 2020 State DERA funding. The grant will fund up to five subaward grants to replace up to ten prime power diesel engines in the rural Alaska communities. The FY20 State DERA project will be implemented with a mandatory cost share of $163,739 from Alaska Energy Authority and $327,478 in voluntary match from VW Settlement funds to Alaska Energy Authority for a total project cost of $982,434. What is the Project? The Alaska Energy Authority (AEA) will work in consultation with the Alaska Department of Environmental Conservation (ADEC) to work with rural communities in Alaska that are not connected to the electrical grid and must generate their own electricity. The grant will partially fund replacement of up to ten non-certified and lower tiered diesel engines with Tier 2 and 3 marine engines, and low PM emitting nonroad engines. These engines will be installed because of their proven reliability, fuel economy, and because they are as clean or cleaner than on-road Tier 3 engines Why is this Project Important? Rural communities in Alaska are not connected to the electrical grid and must generate their own electricity. The small diesel power plants are used for this purpose in rural Alaska communities. What are the Estimated Environmental Benefits? These diesel power plants have at least one diesel engine running continuously 24/7 in these rural Alaska communities. These communities rely on these engines for their prime power; however, many of these power plants currently use old technology with high emitting engines. The replacement of these old diesel engines is projected to reduce annual diesel emissions with up to ten existing prime power non-certified and lower tiered engines taken out of service and replaced with more cleaner, more fuel efficient certified marine Tier 2 and Tier3, and low PM emitting nonroad engines which will lead to immediate reductions in diesel fuel and decreased emissions. The estimated useful life of a DERA engine in a prime power application is 60,000 hours, over a ten-year period. How is this Project Funded? The West Coast Collaborative is a partnership between leaders from federal, tribal, state, and local government, the private sector, and environmental groups committed to reducing diesel emissions along the West Coast and is part of the National Clean Diesel Campaign: www.epa.gov/cleandiesei Where can I find more information? For more information on the West Coast Collaborative, please visit our website at: www.westcoastcollaborative.orc:. For more information about this project, please contact Lucita Valiere at valiere.lucita@epa.gov. ------- |