by Kelsey Adkisson (Pacific Northwest National Laboratory/Newswise) Possibility of cheaper, greener fuel for remote, coastal Alaska communities — Kelp is plentiful in remote, coastal Alaska. Fuel is not. And it’s expensive. Many isolated communities rely on diesel generators for energy because they are not connected to pipelines or the electrical grid. But diesel is expensive since it must be barged or flown in. In search of a cheaper, sustainable fuel, researchers at Pacific Northwest National Laboratory (PNNL) turned to two plentiful marine resources in Alaska: kelp and fish processing waste. They found that by using existing fish processing plants, Alaska’s kelp harvest and fish waste could be transformed into a diesel-like fuel that is carbon neutral. The waste-to-energy fuel could then be used to power generators or fishing boats. The team’s research, sponsored by the U.S. Department of Energy’s Office of Energy Efficiency and Renewable Energy (EERE), was highlighted in a recent report.