Murkowski Names ACEP Hydrokinetic Research in Critical Infrastructure Bill

U.S. Sen. Lisa Murkowski, a key negotiator of the Infrastructure Investment and Jobs Act, announced in a press release significant funding to support Alaska projects.

The bipartisan bill, now being considered by the full Senate, would provide $550 billion in new federal funding without raising taxes. The money would expand roads, bridges, rail lines, transit facilities, ports, airports, energy and water systems, and broadband internet access.

UAF’s hydrokinetics research program, a key research area of ACEP, “could benefit from a proposed $146.4 million to carry out hydropower and marine energy research to assess the feasibility and deployment of hydrokinetic resources in Alaska.”

"This bill would directly support research to advance novel marine energy technologies that benefit Alaska communities," said Jeremy Kasper, deputy director of ACEP and co-director of the Pacific Marine Energy Center.

Other ACEP research areas mentioned in the bill include grid modernization, microgrid resilience, energy storage and more.

Read the full bill at https://www.portman.senate.gov/sites/default/files/2021-08/Infrastructure%20Investment%20and%20Jobs%20Act.pdf.