Southeast Conference Hosts Annual Meeting in Ketchikan

The Ted Ferry Civic Center in Ketchikan was abuzz in excitement last week for the $49 million Build Back Better regional award won by Southeast Conference and the Alaska Mariculture Cluster.

Southeast Conference held its annual meeting last week, and detailed during the event how the BBB award, along with another $15 million from partners, will help grow the mariculture industry across coastal Alaska, boostingthe region's economy and quality of life in a sustainable way.

The University of Alaska will play an important role in the research and development component of the project. 

Energy was also a key topic at the conference. Alaska legislators and legislative candidates agreed on Tuesday's legislative panel that energy investment will be critical for developing a strong economy for Alaska. Additionally, there were updates from the region's utilities on Wednesday's energy panel, along with discussions on beneficial electrification and biomass heating.

For copies of presentation slides, recordings of the sessions and additional information on the meeting, see Southeast Conference's website: seconference.org.

 

(Left to right) Sen. Jesse Kiehl, Rebecca Himschoot, Jeremy Bynum, Rep. Andi Story, Rep. Dan Ortiz, Kenny Skaflestad, SEC Director Robert Venables. Photo by Nathan Green.