During its Tuesday night (10-9-14) meeting, the Sitka Assembly approved, on first reading, a rebate program for homeowners who install energy-efficient heat pumps.

The program would offer $750 rebates for residents who switch from oil, gas or wood systems to the electric heat pumps. Electric Utility Director Chris Brewton said the program is a win-win: the city will increase electricity sales, while residents can lower their home-heating costs.

“In my opinion, it’s the best use of our new hydro capacity, and it also helps folks that are facing high energy costs, giving them the opportunity to reduce the costs of living in town,” he said.

A similar proposal was voted down in April over concerns that the city shouldn’t be encouraging the switch to electric systems. With the expansion of the Blue Lake dam, the city can now generate more electricity. But Assembly members worried that the city should conserve that capacity, perhaps for commercial use.

Brewton said that because heat pumps use electricity so efficiently, they are exactly the right use for the city’s increased hydro capacity.

“It’s a very effective way to maximize our limited hydro,” he said. “Blue Lake is new, and we have capacity, but it is a limited resource, and so we have to be very thoughtful about how we manage that into the future. It’s going to take us 30 plus years to pay it off. We don’t want to use that up overnight for electric resistance heat. We need to save it for economic growth and opportunity.”

The Assembly will have to vote on the rebate program at least one more time before it becomes law.

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The Assembly also approved the lease of 18 acres of tidelands near the Gary Paxton Industrial Park to Alaska Bulk Water, Inc. The company plans to anchor ships in Silver Bay to load with bulk water for export.

The company’s agreement with the city will expire unless it begins shipping bulk water by next winter. So far, it hasn ’t been at all clear that the company can meet that deadline, but CEO Terry Trapp said they are trying.

“We are excited about this,” he said. “We want to begin the construction phase of this business, to be able to meet the benchmark that we have in front of us, to export 50 million gallons of bulk water by December of 2015.”

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Finally, the Assembly on Tuesday night approved an amended ordinance that would make it easier for residents to sell produce at home garden stands. The Assembly added language explicitly stating that anyone running a garden stand would need a business license and would have to pay sales tax.