Alaska Energy Hub: A GIS Solution helping fund critical energy projects
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Resource Data developed the Alaska Energy Hub, a public-facing ArcGIS platform, to help Alaska Municipal League connect communities with resources and funding for energy projects. In its first year, the platform received nearly 10,000 visitors and 25 project submissions, helping communities’ advance energy initiatives.
Background
The Alaska Municipal League (AML) is a nonprofit, nonpartisan membership organization of 165 Alaska cities, boroughs, and unified municipalities. AML represents over 97 percent of Alaska’s residents and is responsible for fielding and progressing community projects competing for federal funding.
Resource Data worked with AML on an AK DOT&PF project, creating the Alaska Transportation Funding Opportunity Hub (Transportation Hub) in 2022 to support the identification and progression of infrastructure project applications for grant funding. They thought the State of Alaska could benefit from a similar hub for energy-related projects.
Need
AML was determined to find ways to connect their members with resources and agencies that provide funding and technical assistance to progress all types of energy projects. They liked the technology and user interface of the Transportation Hub we built but wanted a simpler version of it—a public-facing website with access to the project intake survey that collects information about the prospective projects.
Solution
Resource Data created the Alaska Energy Hub, an ArcGIS Online solution that provides communities access to many useful energy project assistance resources. The Energy Hub features
- Public-facing Experience Builder website
- Survey123 survey for project submissions
- Interactive web applications
- Project-data querying interface
- Access to external energy project resources
- Administrative backend for AML staff to review, edit, and manage energy project locations and details efficiently
- Automated emails using Power Automate ArcGIS Online connectors triggered by project-concept submissions
Because of the Alaska Energy Hub that Resource Data developed, the Energy Ambassadors and community leaders now have a really easy path to submitting projects.
Nils Andreassen, Executive Director, Alaska Municipal League
As part of this effort, AML and their partners also spearheaded the Arctic Energy Ambassadors program. The program selected ambassadors from 12 regions within Alaska to provide a local champion to connect with stakeholders and develop regional and statewide projects.
Resource Data supported this effort by creating an Arctic Energy Ambassador Application and generated reports for each applicant to support internal review and selection. Once the ambassadors were selected, we updated the public-facing Energy Hub to introduce the ambassadors and provide contact information for communities seeking technical assistance.
Results
The Alaska Energy Hub offers AML members access to a one-stop resource that makes it easy for Energy Ambassadors and community leaders to submit projects. The website received nearly 10,000 views within the first year, and the communities have submitted 25 energy project concepts. Plus, its administrative functions help staff manage project details efficiently.
