Groups press for tribe-friendly renewable energy policies
By Rob Capriccioso
Story Published: Jan 2, 2009
WASHINGTON – As more tribes explore and get involved in the renewable energy
field, a network of tribal groups is asking President-elect Barack Obama to
support tribally owned and operated renewable energy projects, along with
economic development initiatives that could reduce dependence on fossil
fuels.
“The Obama economic stimulus plan that incorporates a green economy and
green jobs portfolio must include provisions for access of these resources
by our Native nations, our tribal education and training institutions and
Native organizations and communities,” according to a policy statement
released jointly Dec. 17 by the Intertribal Council on Utility Policy, the
Indigenous Environmental Network, the International Indian Treaty Council
and the Honor the Earth environmental group.
“When considering energy production, resource extraction, housing and energy
efficiency, it is essential that the incoming administration takes into
account the disproportionate impacts of climate change and energy
development on American Indian reservations and Alaska Native villages, and
the potential for catalyzing green reservation economies.”
The groups represent approximately 250 grassroots tribal organizations and
tribes that want to ensure American Indian participation and prosperity in
the green economy of the future.
The statement says that federal government subsidies for the nuclear, coal,
gas and oil industry should be rapidly phased out with a proportional ramp
up of subsidies for renewable technologies and locally administered
conservation and efficiency improvements.
Under current federal law, tribes are not directly entitled to credits
provided to non-Native developers for renewable energy production. This has
created a system where outside companies sometimes think twice about teaming
with tribes on renewable energy projects, since, if they do so, the federal
government does not allow for a full tax credit.
“Projects involving technologies like wind power could stand on their own if
none of the energy sectors got [federal] subsidies or incentives, but there
are already billions of dollars built into coal, gas and coal subsidies,”
said Bob Gough, a leader with Intertribal COUP.
“To compete against them, renewable energy technologies require subsidies as
well. You can’t artificially keep the price of energy down, and then expect
new kinds of technology to bear all the costs.”
The groups are pressing for changes to subsidy laws to make them more
tribe-friendly, and also say that any climate change legislation should not
allocate funds for nuclear or clean coal technologies, as they believe those
practices are often harmful to the Earth and to tribal interests.
The policy paper specifically asks that policymakers provide a renewable
production refund for tribal projects that can’t utilize current tax
credits, as well as offer financial matching grants to capitalize renewable
energy potential in tribal communities.
The organizations believe that a new crop of tribal renewable projects,
which would be assisted by the legislative changes they seek, would provide
dual benefits of low carbon power and green economic development where it is
needed most.
Support for legislative action involving tribes and energy is based on the
following research gathered by the groups:
• Tribal lands have an estimated 535 billion kWh/year of wind power
generation potential.
• Tribal lands have an estimated 17,000 billion kWh/year of solar
electricity generation potential, about 4.5 times the total U.S. annual
generation.
• Investing in renewable energy creates more jobs per dollar invested than
fossil fuel energy.
• Efficiency creates 21.5 jobs for every $1 million invested.
• The costs of fuel for wind and solar power can be projected into the
future, providing a unique opportunity for stabilizing an energy intensive
economy.
In sum, members of the tribal network believe that forward thinking energy
and climate policy will have the ability to transform tribal and other rural
economies, while also providing a basis for an overall economic recovery in
the U.S.
Gough estimated that close to 100 tribes across the country have already
assessed or are currently assessing the wind and/or solar energy resources
that are available on their lands. Some of the tribes, including those in
the Plains and Southwest regions, have found that their renewable energy
resources rank among the most abundant in the U.S.
Tony Skrelunas, an America Indian program director with the Grand Canyon
Trust environmental group, said that it will be important in 2009 for tribes
to continue banding together to make their energy interests well-known to
federal policymakers.
Skrelunas, a member of the Navajo Nation who used to manage the tribe’s
economic development operations, said many tribes are now savvy on energy
issues, and have evolved to the point where they want strong federal
policies put in place to help them harness their power. His group plans to
help convene several tribal renewable energy players early in 2009 to focus
on national strategies.
“There are a lot of issues that have to be worked out and laws that need to
be clarified,” Skrelunas said. “And the tribes have to be the ones
championing this. The tribes have to be the ones going to Congress saying
they want these laws changed.”
Skrelunas said he is looking forward to what the Obama administration brings
forward regarding tribal energy issues.
In terms of tribal economics, many energy experts say that renewable
projects could create a more stable business model than, say, the
development of casinos alone.
“One of the issues facing economic development with casinos is that you need
to have a number of customers – you need to have a large population market
to draw on, but that’s not always the case for remote reservations” Gough
noted.
“Whereas, it doesn’t matter how many people want to use the electricity
you’re able to produce from a wind turbine in a rural area, you can serve
thousands and thousands and thousands of customers from across a whole
region.”
Gough said he hopes to see dozens more tribal renewable energy projects up
and running by the end of 2009.
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