skip to main content
skip to newscasts

Wednesday, July 9, 2025

Public News Service Logo
facebook instagram linkedin reddit youtube twitter
view newscast page
play newscast audioPlay

More than 160 people still missing after deadly Texas floods, governor says; Ohio small businesses seek clarity as Congress weighs federal ownership reporting rule; Hoosiers' medical bills under state review; Survey: Gen Z teens don't know their options after high school; Rural Iowa farmers diversify crops for future success.

view newscast page
play newscast audioPlay

USDA, DHS Secretaries collaborate on a National Farm Security Action Plan. Health advocates worry about the budget megabill's impacts, and Prime Minister Netanyahu nominates President Trump for a Nobel Peace Prize.

view newscast page
play newscast audioPlay

Farmers may abandon successful conservation programs if federal financial chaos continues, a rural electric cooperative in Southwest Colorado is going independent to shrink customer costs, and LGBTQ+ teens say an online shoulder helps more than community support.

Tax incentive cuts could stall rural Alaska deployable power

play audio
Play

Thursday, June 26, 2025   

Potential cuts to alternative energy tax incentives could slow alternative energy distribution in the rural parts of Alaska.

Lawmakers in Congress said they are trying to rightsize the federal budget. Alaska's topography and extreme climate make getting electricity to Alaska's rural bush communities extremely challenging.

Chase Christie, development director for the systems installation company Alaska Solar, said four projects created by the Chugach Electric Association took a different approach to getting a lot of power to people in rural areas.

"It's a lot of power but I think even more significantly it is extremely rapidly deployable," Christie explained. "Renewables and solar in particular are the most rapidly deployable ways to get kilowatt-hours into the grid."

The tax breaks in the Biden-era Inflation Reduction Act were critical to making the Chugach projects a reality, and Christie pointed out if the incentives disappear, so could a good amount of investment in rural Alaska's alternative energy distribution sector. The cuts could fall squarely on rural power cooperative and municipal utilities, which service up to 90% of Alaska residents.

The Inflation Reduction Act also helped power co-ops in the Lower 48 states to modernize their power grids and boosted investments in clean energy. Christie stressed the measures will have an economic trickle-down effect, especially in rural Alaska.

"Not just providing energy for the communities," Christie emphasized. "We're providing jobs, revenue, I would say hope for revitalizing some of these communities that have been overlooked by the federal government for decades."

Christie warned such hope could be dashed if the reasons for investment disappear.


get more stories like this via email
more stories
The Trump administration considers programs focusing on any facet of diversity, equity or inclusion to be a violation of federal anti-discrimination law. (Adobe Stock)

Social Issues

play sound

The Trump administration has made it clear it will cut funding from schools continuing diversity, equity and inclusion programs and with record …


Social Issues

play sound

Among the hundreds of pages making up the "One Big Beautiful Bill Act" just signed into law is a requirement some people must work to receive Medicaid…

Health and Wellness

play sound

After a legislative session which opened doors to expand mental health care services across Montana, a state commission said it is considering the …


The recommended ratio of students to counselors is 250 to 1, Washington is over that at 363 to 1. (Christoph Burgstedt/Adobe Stock)

play sound

Most Gen Z high school students and their parents are unaware of the range of options available to kids after graduation, according to a new survey…

Environment

play sound

By Carolyn Beans for Lancaster Farming.Broadcast version by Mark Richardson for Keystone State News Connection reporting for the Lancaster Farming-MIT…

More than 85% of the land in Iowa is dedicated to farming. (Adobe Stock)

Environment

play sound

Iowa is the nation's number one corn and soybean producer and federal polices are designed to keep it that way but more farmers are moving away from t…

Health and Wellness

play sound

By Marilyn Odendahl for The Indiana Citizen.Broadcast version by Joe Ulery for Indiana News Service reporting for the Indiana Citizen-Free Press India…

Social Issues

play sound

The Wyoming Historic Preservation Office is a state office born from the National Historic Preservation Act, a federal law. After a three-month …

 

Phone: 303.448.9105 Toll Free: 888.891.9416 Fax: 208.247.1830 Your trusted member- and audience-supported news source since 1996 Copyright © 2021