The Haines Brewing Company will soon be turning sun into beer with help from a federal program designed to promote alternative energy use among small businesses.
Brewing company co-owner Jeanne Kitayama said she recently secured a grant from the USDA’s Renewable Energy for America Program for the installation of solar panels at the brewery’s new Main Street location.
Two poles next to the beer garden will support 10 solar panels each, Kitayama said. The panels will help offset the business’s electricity costs during the summer, she said.
Though many Haines residents use solar panels at their homes – including Kitayama, who has four panels at her house across Mud Bay – the brewery will be the only commercial building in town using them.
“That’s a bit of a statement, to show people that alternative energy is possible in commercial projects,” she said.
The Haines School uses a solar panel built by students to power an LED sign attached to the front of the building.
The USDA grant will pay for 25 percent of installation costs, or about $4,500 of the total $18,000, Kitayama said.
Kitayama met with representatives from the Renewable Energy Alaska Project in June when they came through to help identify how businesses could become more energy efficient.
“They were happy that we had looked into that and were looking ahead,” Kitayama said. “They felt we had already gone through the channels we could to supplement things through alternative energy. They were encouraging.”
Renee Johnson, director of the business programs for the Alaska chapter of USDA Rural Development, said the program Kitayama is using has contributed $2.4 million in grants for 75 Alaskan projects since 2009.
The REAP program helped Juneau’s Alaska Brewing Company install a new steam boiler in 2011, granting it $440,000 for the nearly $2 million project.
Johnson said she is trying to do a better job with outreach so more businesses can take advantage of alternative energy grants.
Contact Johnson at 761-7712 or [email protected] with questions or to get an application.