Lisa Busch, executive director of the Sitka Sound Science Center, smiles as she accepts a check for $40,000 from Wells Fargo. The money will be used to design a seawater heat pump for the center.
The ocean supports a variety of marine life at the Sitka Sound Science Center, and soon it will support human life. This week, the center received funding to design a saltwater heat-pump.
The $40,000 grant came from Wells Fargo, through a program called “Environmental Solutions for Communities.” Lisa Busch, executive director of the science center, says the pump will be used to educate the public on the benefits of harnessing seawater energy.
Busch – In terms of sustainable energy sources, saltwater seems to be a good one, that we have a lot of it here in coastal Alaska. If we can have a demonstration project that shows you can use energy based on ocean water, it’s going to be a powerful.
Wells Fargo gives $100,000 per year in environmental grants in Alaska. The company originally proposed giving $15,000 to the Science Center, which would fund about one-quarter of the project’s design. o Judith Crotty, a community development manager at Wells Fargo, revisited the proposal and bumped the grant to $40,000.
Judith Crotty of Wells Fargo presents staff of the Sitka Sound Science Center with a check that will fund the design of the center’s new seawater heat pump.
Crotty – Our culture of care is not only for our customer, but it’s also for our communities. Lisa has proven her worth in raising funds. We felt a $15,000 gap with a 40,000 match will definitely help the science center fulfill their dreams.
The new pump isn’t just for demonstration. The energy it harnesses from seawater will be used to heat the building that houses the science center. Busch says they’ve been planning the project for a few years, and were inspired by Alaska Sea Life Center’s heat pump.
Busch – Their energy engineer, Andy Baker, basically came to us and said “Hey, you already have saltwater coming into your building,” because we have an aquarium, a saltwater aquarium. So we can harness that energy into heating your building. And that was very appealing.
Busch says the new pump along with the center’s salmon hatchery provide an excellent intersection of scientific education and research.
The grant to the Science Center was one of four given by the Environmental Solutions for Communities program this year.
