A program run by a pair of Alaska nonprofits has started paying out grants for new electric heat pump installations in homes from Metlakatla to Kodiak, with Wrangell also on the eligibility list.

The grants range from $4,000 to $8,500 per household, depending on income, and are intended to reduce home heating costs while also reducing pollution from burning fossil fuels.

The coastal Alaska program is just starting up, with funds paid out or pending for about 15 installations as of Dec. 2, said Jessie Huff, energy program manager for the Southeast Conference.

“We have at least 300 applications in the works right now,” she told the regional economic development nonprofit’s energy committee on Dec. 2.

The Southeast Conference and Alaska Heat Smart, a nonprofit dedicated to reducing the cost of living and increasing the use of clean energy, last year were awarded a $38.6 million federal grant to help lower the cost of energy-efficient heat pumps for 6,000 households in 43 coastal communities.

About four or five Wrangell households already have applied, Huff said in an interview the day after the committee meeting.

Applicants need to provide proof of income to determine which level of assistance they would be eligible to receive. Applicants also need to provide a record of their heating costs as part of the home assessment process.

The maximum grant amount of $8,500 is available for households earning less than 80% of the area median annual income, which varies by community. In Wrangell, that threshold for the largest grant is $53,950 for a single-person household, $61,650 for a home with two people, then increasing for larger households.

Applicants with annual household incomes above the low-income threshold would be eligible for a $6,000 or $4,000 grant, depending on their income.

Any costs in excess of the grant amount are the responsibility of the homeowner, Huff said, adding that the Southeast Conference is working with credit unions and banks that are interested in creating loan programs for heat pump conversions.

In addition to receiving a larger grant, low-income households would not have to front the money to pay a heat pump contractor — the program would pay the contractor directly. All other grant recipients would need to pay their contractor and submit receipts for reimbursement.

Commercial properties are not eligible for the program, which is called Accelerating Clean Energy Savings.

The effort is funded by a grant from the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency. The nationwide Climate Pollution Reduction Grant program is funded under the 2022 Inflation Reduction Act, which allocated nearly $5 billion to states, local governments, tribes and territories to reduce greenhouse gas emissions and help reduce energy costs.

The individual grants are available for homes that install a heat pump to replace diesel, propane or wood heat, as the program is intended to reduce consumption of fossil fuels, Huff said.

“You must apply, complete the income verification and home assessment processes, and receive final approval prior to purchasing materials or starting your installation,” the program website cautions. “Installations started prior to receiving approval will not be eligible for an incentive payment.”

More information is available at the website Akheatsmart.org/aces/. People can log in at the site to start their application, including the income verification process.

The Heat Smart team will conduct a preliminary assessment of what would be needed to heat the home, Huff explained. The team will ask for utility bills and the size of the home.

Low-income households that qualify for the larger grant will need to wait for an approved contractor to do the work; other participants in the program can choose a contractor from Heat Smart’s list or pick their own contractor.

That is a limiting factor for people who qualify for the low-income grants and need to wait for a contractor to take the job.

“We don’t have active low-income heat pump installers everywhere,” Huff said, noting that only Juneau, Ketchikan and Sitka have approved contractors on the list, though the program is close to adding Kodiak to that list.

The program is “actively trying to line up a contractor in every town,” she said.

There are no Wrangell contractors on the list, which means a low-income grant recipient in Wrangell would either have to wait for a contractor to get on the Heat Smart qualified list, or wait for the program to assemble enough installations in Wrangell to justify the travel costs of bringing in a contractor from out of town.

Though the grant was awarded more than a year ago, there was some uncertainty earlier this year whether or not the program would continue under the President Donald Trump administration.

Robert Venables, Southeast Conference executive director, reported in March that the federal funding had been frozen twice in the past few weeks amid the new administration’s orders to halt federal contracts, loans and grants.

“Even though we lost it twice, we got it back a third time,” Venables said in early March.

This story was originally published by the Wrangell Sentinel.