A hydroelectric project in the remote Southeast Alaska community of Angoon is on pause following the federal grant freeze announced in late January by the Trump administration. The project was scheduled to start construction in just a few months.
The Thayer Creek Project has been in the works since 1980, when Angoon’s village corporation, Kootznoowoo Inc., negotiated the rights to develop hydropower on the creek as part of the Alaska National Interest Lands Conservation Act, or ANILCA. Last year, the project finally received 27 million dollars in federal funding through the U.S. Department of Energy to construct a small plant that would supply power to the remote Admiralty Island community.
Kootznoowoo CEO Keith Greene said construction was slated to start this May. Now, the project is on hold indefinitely.
“At this point, without that federal funding, there’s not much we can do, because that’s what we’ve been working towards,” he said.
He said he’s optimistic that funding will be released eventually. But either way, Angoon residents will be waiting on hydropower for a while longer.
“If it frees up later this year, it’s still going to be a 2026 start date,” he said. “So until we know for sure, we’re just having to wait it out.”
Angoon residents currently rely on diesel or wood to heat their homes, both of which are increasingly expensive and in short supply in the isolated island community. Angoon mayor Peter Duncan said that hydropower would mean stable energy costs and more jobs.
“We were moving forward, you know, in a positive way that was going to cut our electrical prices for life and and all of that, and put people to work,” he said.
He said it’s hard to not feel disappointed when the project was so close to becoming a reality.
“How would you feel if you were pushing forward and things started to happen for you, and then somebody took that all away from you?” he said.
Greene said the people of Angoon have already overcome decades of obstacles on the Thayer Creek Project — and they’re not going to give up easily.
“They’re very much in it for the long haul,” he said. “They will continue to go forward and fight for what they believe in and what they feel like they deserve.”
In the meantime, he said Kootznoowoo will be ready to jump into action as soon as the funding is released.
