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		Energy Services Bulletin home page
		Voluntary net-metering encourages St. George customers to go solar
		Western strengthens ties with tribes to develop renewables
		New guidebook helps utilities address public concerns
		Technology Spotlight: Solar thermal energy an option in large facilities
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Western strengthens ties with tribes to develop renewables

Upper Great Plains Energy Services Representative Greg Vaselaar (right) discusses power operations with a LaCreek Electric Coooperative member at the co-op's annual meeting.

As ongoing drought and growing demand take their toll on the West's water resources for energy production, Western is seeking ways to unlock the region's vast renewable energy resources—and may find the key in partnerships with its Native American tribal customers.

At a MidWest Electric Consumers Association meeting, Western Administrator Tim Meeks announced that Western will focus on three key issues: transmission expansion, wind integration and tribal partnerships. Intertribal Council on Utility Policy, a non-profit group of Great Plains tribes that deals with energy issues, greeted this list with enthusiasm. "We were very pleased to hear the announcement because these issues are very high priority for Northern Plains tribes," said ICOUP Secretary Robert Gough.

Partnering to overcome challenges

Western counts 90 tribes as customers, and our transmission lines cross 900 miles of reservations and tribal lands—lands rich in renewable energy resources. Gough sees Federal/tribal partnerships as an excellent way for tribes to contribute to the greening of the nation's power supply while developing their own economy. "ICOUP has done a lot of assessment of wind resources along Western's grid, and we are very excited that Western is recognizing the opportunity, too," he said. "Western is in a position to become the tribes' biggest Federal partner in developing renewable energy."

The tribes face many challenges in harnessing those resources, acknowledged Gough, some typical to renewable energy development and some unique. "Reservations have a lot of resources but not a lot of load," he observed. "That is why transmission expansion is important—transmission is the 'farm-to-market' highway for renewable energy."

Like community-based projects, tribes are restricted to working with whatever resources are available on their own lands. "If developers are looking at a site that is not ideal, they can go somewhere else," he pointed out.

Community projects, however, are often their own customers, he added, "Whereas tribes don’t usually control their own meters. They can't tax their membership to secure a loan. Project funding has to be set up differently."

Also, tribes are not taxable entities, so they can't take advantage of production tax credits, a situation that could be changed by legislation recently introduced by Rep. Raúl M. Grijalva of Arizona. The bill would allow tribes to transfer their share of the production tax credit to private entities providing financing for joint-venture renewable energy projects on tribal lands. Gough sees that provision as critical to improving the economics of tribal renewable energy projects.

Successful developments set example

Still, such challenges haven't stopped Western's tribal customers from developing successful projects. The Rosebud Sioux Tribe, an ICOUP founding member, launched the first Native-owned and –operated wind turbine in 2003. ICOUP plans to use that experience to develop an 80-MW intertribal wind farm spread across several sites along Western's transmission system.

Smaller projects may simply power tribal facilities, like the 2.4-kW solar system the Jicarilla Apache Nation installed on Dulce High School in 1999. The Mandan, Hidatsa and Arikara Nation sees the 66-kW wind turbine it built to power its Four Bears Casino as groundwork for future development. Other customers, like the Hopi tribe, are exploring options ranging from setting up a tribal utility to supplementing their solar arrays with a wind turbine.

Tribal interest in renewable energy development has increased over the last several years, noted Lizana Pierce, project manager for DOE's Tribal Energy Program. "The program has funded 76 projects since 2002 at $12.4 million with $3.3 million in matching funds from tribes. That's a major indication of their commitment to development."

Another Federal partner offers resources

The DOE Tribal Energy Program promotes tribal energy sufficiency, economic development and employment on tribal lands through the use of renewable energy and energy efficiency technologies. Pierce proudly notes that about 90 percent of the program's funding goes directly to the tribes to support tribal projects. "We have a very low overhead," she said.

Tribes can also get help leveraging other Federal funding sources and learn more about the development process. The program offers training covering everything from renewable energy basics to planning for development. Presentations from workshops are available on the program's recently redesigned Web site along with the Guide to Tribal Energy Development. "Tribal leaders told us they needed a clearinghouse of information, and the guide is our attempt to provide that," said Pierce. "The website is also a means of sharing the tribe’s successes and lessons learned."

Pierce added that she anticipates more discussions between the Tribal Energy Program and Western on how to help tribal energy projects move forward.

Wind needed for demonstration

Of the many good reasons for encouraging renewable energy development on tribal lands, the Section 2606 feasibility study looms large for Western. Sec. 2606 charges Western with determining the feasibility of a demonstration project that would blend of tribal-generated wind power with hydropower from the Missouri River to supply firming power to Federal agencies.

Energy Services Representative Mike Radecki, project manager for the Sec. 2606 study, noted that there is already some blending from smaller projects like the Rosebud turbine. "But the effects on the transmission system are dispersed because of the size and distance between generating facilities," he said. "We're still not sure how large amounts of wind will impact the system, physically, operationally or economically."

Tribes in Western's Upper Great Plains Region are in the position to help the utility answer some of those questions. The Blackfeet Nation, Ft. Peck tribes and ICOUP have all nominated wind projects to participate in the demonstration, although most of the facilities have yet to be built.

ICOUP's plan to build a wind farm in 10- to 20-MW modules across five states would be a good fit with the demonstration's goals, said Gough. "A large-scale, distributed system would provide good information on integrating into the grid in a number of places," he noted. "The sites could also take advantage of weather fronts as they move across the plains."

Whatever the outcome of the Sec. 2606 feasibility study, Western will make sure its tribal customers are partners in finding solutions to the region's and the nation's energy challenges. In Gough's view, the partnerships will benefit everyone. "It will mean local, sustainable development for tribes and clean, safe energy for America. I don't see a downside."