A different perspective: Native Americans and the smart grid

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By Doug Peeples

SGN News Editor

When we saw the DOE announcement last week about $6.5 million in clean energy grant awards for 19 tribal energy projects, it made us wonder how involved Native American tribes are in smart grid and other grid modernization initiatives and what they're focusing on – not to mention the incentives and challenges.

We also wondered why Native American electric generation and distribution projects don't get much attention in the news. Turns out there aren't that many of them. Since 2002, DOE's Tribal Energy Program has awarded $36 million to 159 projects. And there aren't that many Native American utilities, either. As of 2009, there were roughly 11 of varying size and makeup.

Incentives and challenges for Native American electric utilities

If you're thinking the environment for Native American clean energy projects, utility operations and other electrification issues might be a little different, you'd be right. In addition to obvious incentives like economic improvement and an improved standard of living (many Native Americans live in poverty), self-determination is a big one.

Few tribes build, own and operate their own utilities and most utilities serving reservations are not Indian-owned. In some cases, when tribes have attempted to come to an agreement with an existing utility to provide electric service, the price is simply too high.

But despite lack of utility management experience and startup capital – and resistance from existing utilities, some tribes have been able to get around those roadblocks and develop the generation and distribution facilities they need to provide power for irrigation equipment or for new casino/hotel/resort complexes or truck and travel centers that seem to fit well into tribal economic development plans.