Alaska Village Electric Cooperative Inc.

Alaska Village Electric Cooperative Inc., a tax-exempt not-for-profit electric utility cooperative headquartered in Anchorage, Alaska, operates as a recipient on federal grants funding renewable energy infrastructure, power system upgrades, and energy resilience improvements across 59 remote Alaskan communities served by the cooperative. AVEC acts as prime recipient on 97% of its recent federal awards, with 156 total awards carrying a combined obligated value of $253.8 million.

AVEC's federal footprint is almost entirely grant-funded and concentrated with the Denali Commission, which accounts for 132 of 151 prime awards (87% of the prime portfolio). The cooperative receives project grants under the Denali Commission Program (CFDA 90.100) to deliver power system upgrades, battery energy storage installations, and grid bridging systems across remote villages including Goodnews Bay ($6.3 million, Dec 2024–Dec 2027), Shaktoolik, Grayling, Stebbins, and St. Michael. The Department of Agriculture Rural Utilities Service has awarded nine grants under the Assistance to High Energy Cost Communities program (CFDA 10.859) totaling $3 million (Jan 2026–Jan 2028) and $1.57 million (Jun 2025–Jun 2027) to fund energy generation, transmission, and distribution facility improvements across the cooperative's service territory, where average home energy costs exceed 275 percent of the national average. The Department of Energy Office of Indian Energy Policy and Programs has issued six project grants including a $2.96 million award (CFDA 81.087, Jul 2027–Jul 2031) to install refurbished wind turbines and battery energy storage in Mekoryuk and a $9.4 million Denali Commission award (CFDA 90.100) for the Kobuk-Shungnak Multivoltage Direct Current/Alternating Current electrical intertie project (Jul 2025–Mar 2028). The Department of Energy Office of Cyber Security awarded a $1.82 million Cooperative Agreement (Aug 2026–Aug 2028) under the Cybersecurity, Energy Security & Emergency Response program to enhance cybersecurity posture across eligible utilities serving remote Alaskan communities. AVEC received a $2 thousand Federal Emergency Management Agency purchase order (Jul 2026) for electrical services supporting responder lodging in Bethel under disaster relief declaration DR-4983-AK.

AVEC's capability portfolio centers on renewable energy development, microgrid integration, and diesel-reduction infrastructure. Representative work includes 500-kilowatt solar photovoltaic array and 540-kilowatt-hour battery energy storage installation in the Dillingham region (Oct 2024–Sep 2027), wind turbine repowering paired with battery systems in Goodnews Bay and Mekoryuk, grid bridging system construction using lithium-ion batteries to maximize wind energy utilization, and feasibility studies for marine hydrokinetic generation deployment across remote communities. AVEC also acts as sub-recipient on four grants, including $67 thousand from the Alaska Department of Military and Veterans Affairs (Aug 2026) for emergency protective measures under a West Coast Storm project, and grants channeled through the Alaska Energy Authority, North West Arctic Borough, and Alaska Native Tribal Health Consortium supporting bulk fuel infrastructure and power plant upgrades in Shungnak, Ambler, and other villages.

Fourteen awards reach ultimate completion within the next twenty-four months, representing recompete opportunity. Activity has moderated recently — four awards in 2026 and one in 2027 to date — after higher volumes in 2023–2024. AVEC partners with tribal entities and local organizations to structure joint ventures such as the AVEC/Nunavak Island Mekoryuk Alaska (NIMA) Corporation Renewable Energy Joint Venture and the AVEC/Kuitsarak Renewable Energy Joint Venture to develop energy infrastructure on tribal lands and align with Indigenous community priorities.