U.S. Sen. Lisa Murkowski, R-Alaska, welcomed an up to $1.54 million grant that the Department of Energy awarded to promote the development of a marine hydrokinetic project in Igiugig, Alaska. The development of the technology associated with the project could ultimately help lower energy costs in rural communities across the state.

“This is great news for Igiugig. The Igiugig project is so important since the marine power device being developed there could be utilized in dozens of river villages statewide to reduce the high cost of energy. This truly could be the path to bringing affordable electricity to many rural villages if the efficiencies and the durability being pioneered in Igiugig can be replicated statewide,” Murkowski said.

Murkowski, chairman of the Energy and Natural Resources Committee, is a strong supporter of advancing energy innovation in order to lower energy costs in rural communities in Alaska and across the nation. Tuesday’s award by the Department of Energy will allow for the final design and installation of a marine hydrokinetic device in Igiugig, designed by the Ocean Renewable Power Company, that will allow the community to generate electricity from ocean waves or directly from the flow of water in ocean currents, tides, or inland waterways.

Electricity prices in Igiugig are almost 80 cents per kilowatt hour, which is roughly eight times higher than the national average.