In rural central Alaska, a village is in the midst of a clean energy transformation that locals say will boost savings, build resilience and provide jobs. Galena wants to curb its reliance on expensive, imported diesel that when burned is one of the largest contributors of planet-warming emissions.
Nearly 10 years ago, the village started harvesting trees to fuel a biomass plant to heat its bustling boarding school, offsetting about 100,000 gallons (about 380,000 liters) of diesel annually.
