A Bright Collaboration: Mastering Grid-Tie Solar in Dillingham

May 12, 2026

Dillingham, AK- The Bristol Bay Campus was a hive of activity last week as the ENVI F250 Advanced Solar course brought together partners from across the state for hands-on training and critical campus maintenance.

The ENVI F250: Advanced Grid-Tie course, led by instructors Kolt Garvey and Chris Brooks, was a high-energy convergence of technical training, critical infrastructure repair, and cross-departmental synergy that proves exactly what is possible when we stop working in silos and start working as a collective.

The Next Generation of Solar Leaders

The cohort brought together 11 dedicated students from Sitka, Fairbanks, Kongiganak, and Dillingham. Participants represented vital Alaskan organizations, including the Tanana Chiefs Conference, Sitka Construction Solutions, and Puvurnaq Power. Tlingit and Haida Regional Housing Authority also helped to recruit their contractors to attend the course.

This advanced training was made possible, in part, by the Drumbeats Alaska Consortium, which funded the tuition for these participants. While most students met the prerequisites through prior Bristol Bay Campus (BBC) coursework, Puvurnaq Power went the extra mile, sponsoring an online bridge course for their Kongiganak student to ensure he was ready for the challenge.

Throughout the week, students didn't just read about renewable energy; they built it. Using ground-mounted arrays, roof-mounted systems, Enphase microinverters, and Sol-Ark string inverters, they gained the hands-on experience needed to lead residential and community-scale projects across the state.

More Than a Classroom: A Campus Transformed

Beyond the classroom, the week’s session served as a catalyst for a broad logistical collaboration, bringing together facilities experts and technicians to address long-standing infrastructure needs and finalize technological deployments across the Bristol Bay Campus.

Following the intense storms of Spring 2025, the campus’s south wall siding was in desperate need of repair. The catch? It was covered in solar panels. In a display of radical efficiency, the solar training team joined forces with UAF Facilities (Ben Johnson and Michael Gass), Nanook Technology Services (NTS), and BBC Facilities Maintenance (Memphis Gosuk).

As the solar team safely decommissioned and stored the panels, other teams moved in with precision:

• Facilities spearheaded building assessments and security camera installations.

• NTS (Noah Harper, Pei Hua, and Josiah) overhauled campus-wide computer systems, decommissioned legacy gear, and laid the groundwork for the BBNA Digital Equity grant rollout.

The Spirit of "All Hands"

This effort served as a tangible demonstration of the a unified mission across agencies and campuses. In an era of constrained resources, this level of departmental integration is more than a benefit—it is essential. The collaboration at Bristol Bay Campus has resulted in more than improved infrastructure; it has established a robust model for how Alaskan institutions can move forward through shared purpose and synchronized effort.

The Bristol Bay Campus Sustainable Energy is a member of the Drumbeats Alaska Consortium.