On the recordFebruary 10, 2011
I rise today to reintroduce legislation, cosponsored by my colleague Mark Begich from Alaska, that represents an important step in the conversion to renewable energy sources in rural Alaska. Today I introduce the Kantishna Hills Renewable Energy Act of 2011. The Kantishna Roadhouse, owned by Doyon Tourism, Inc., is located 100 miles inside Denali National Park and Preserve. The settlement of Kantishna was founded in 1905 as a mining camp near the juncture of Eureka and Moose Creeks. Gold in the region brought a flurry of prospectors in the early days, but as the gold began to run out, so did interest in mining the Kantishna Hills. The original roadhouse at Kantishna was built in the early 1900s, serving as a private residence, a community center, post office, and informal hotel accommodations for those who visited Kantishna in Denali Park. The Roadhouse, like many structures within Denali National Park, is entirely off the grid and generates all of its electricity needs with a diesel generator.
