A Bright Future: How Renewable Energy Sources on Native American Reservations Promote Economic Empowerment and Mitigate the Climate Crisis
We have 5 years, 278 days, and about four hours left on the Climate Clock. Less than six years until we will reach 1.5°C of warming (Climate Clock). Less than six years to prevent irreversible damage from the climate crisis. The daunting destruction from the climate crisis can only be prevented through immediate action to mitigate greenhouse gas emissions. The shift to solely relying on clean energy for power is required to mitigate the immense impacts of the climate crisis, as 25% of the greenhouse gas emissions in the United States can be attributed to electricity production (USEPA). This shift to clean energy can and should be implemented through a structure that propels economic growth and simultaneously benefits communities that have been historically disempowered. Through the implementation of community-owned and operated renewable energy sources, the climate crisis can be addressed while promoting economic growth and providing economic stability, specifically to under-resourced communities. On Native American reservations, the transition to clean energy has been catalyzed through constructing tribal-owned and operated solar farm facilities that provide incredible economic benefits to the community. The successful construction of these renewable energy sources on reservations has proven that community centered clean energy projects have incredible potential to propel economic empowerment while addressing the climate crisis.
Through centuries of governmental policies that deliberately stripped indigenous people of economic power and sovereignty, and through the infliction of violence and displacement, the potential for economic growth and stability on Native American reservations has been thwarted. Native Americans on reservations currently experience poverty at three times the national rate and an unemployment rate double the national average (Lofthouse, 2020, Peralta, 2014). This can be largely attributed to policies like the Indian Removal Act (1830) that forced Native Americans onto rural, arid, reservation land and the Dawes Act (1887) that divided indigenous land and sold it to white settlers (Elliot, 2015, Lofthouse, 2020). Currently, 14.2% of Native American households lack access to any electricity, which is more than ten times the national average (Jones & Necefer, 2016). This is unacceptable. There is ample renewable energy production potential on reservation land so this disproportionate lack of access to electricity can and has been addressed through constructing on-reservation renewable energy sources that are operated by tribal communities and for the benefit of those communities.
Rural America, specifically Native American reservations, have high potential to produce renewable energy. According to a report published by the National Renewable Energy Laboratory in 2018, there are 6,035 gigawatts of utility-scale solar power generating capacity and 891 gigawatts of wind power capacity on Native American reservations (Institute for Energy Economics and Financial Analysis, 2019). Currently, only about 5%, or 297 megawatts, of solar power have been generated out of the more than 6,000 potential gigawatts (Institute for Energy Economics and Financial Analysis, 2019). The solar energy potential on reservation land is more than four times the amount of electricity that was generated by utility-scale electricity producers in the United States (Marcacci, 2019). This vast amount of renewable energy potential on reservations needs to continue to be utilized in a way that focuses on economically and holistically benefitting these communities to counter the centuries of disempowerment.
The transition to clean energy on Native American reservations provides a more efficient, more affordable, and more accessible alternative to fossil fuels. Many Native Americans who live on reservation do not have access to energy, and those who do typically face high costs and unreliable networks. Out of the 86% of Native American households that do have access to electricity, 88% of them are supplied electricity by investor-owned utilities (Western Area Power Administration, 2010). Investor-Owned Utilities (IOUs) are centralized, for-profit organizations that control the source and price of the electricity they provide without much regard for the interests of the consumers (Baker, 2021). IOUs do not have incentives to lower costs and often do not provide electricity to especially remote parts of reservations because they do not want to pay to expand the grid (Western Area Power Administration, 2010). The system of IOUs directly contributes to the lack of energy access on reservations because the utility controls energy decisions. This disregard for community interests in the IOU framework continues the systemic exclusion of indigenous people’s opinions in decision-making regarding energy systems on tribal lands. The transition to a future not reliant on fossil fuels allows for the opportunity to shift away from these traditional models of energy production and consumption towards community centered structures that provide explicit economic benefits to the community.
Clean energy structures on reservations should be constructed by and run by Tribal-Owned Utilities (TOUs), not Investor-Owned Utilities, to ensure that indigenous people who live on reservations economically benefit from this energy transition. TOUs are organizations in which Native American tribal members own their energy systems and control the source as well as the distribution of energy on their land (Western Area Power Administration, 2010). Because they are owned and operated by the tribes, these utilities have the ability to expand access to electricity on reservations and make energy more affordable while creating jobs for tribal members and strengthening economic development (Western Area Power Administration, 2010). This structure of community owned and operated energy utilities has the explicit mission to benefit the community in an economically holistic manner, through increasing efficiency, affordability, and accessibility to energy. There is so much potential for renewable energy in rural and historically underserved communities in the U.S., but this transition to a reliance on clean energy needs to be done through community owned utilities for the most economic benefits.
Tribal-Owned Utilities have successfully constructed clean energy sources, contributing to economic growth and stability within their communities, proving that the transition to clean energy is most beneficial through community-owned utilities. The Navajo Tribal Utility Authority has fully embraced the pursuit of community-centered, accessible, clean energy. In the past, Navajo Nation has struggled with energy access and affordability. In 2000, almost 40% of homes on the reservation did not have access to electricity (Western Area Power Administration, 2010). To address this issue, the Navajo Tribal Utility Authority has invested in two major projects: utility-scale solar farms and the Light Up Navajo initiative. These utility-scale solar farms were created to generate cheaper, renewable, and accessible electricity while contributing to the economic growth of Navajo communities (Navajo Tribal Utility Authority). The Light Up Navajo initiative partners the utility with the American Power Association to bring electricity to homes in Navajo Nation, countering the lack of access to electricity (American Public Power Association). These projects in combination with another promote sustained economic empowerment while countering the climate crisis.
The Navajo Tribal Utility Authority invested in solar farms, with the help of partners, to gain self-reliance and increase economic growth. They decided to build three utility-scale solar farms, one of which is fully operational and the other two which are still in construction phases (Navajo Tribal Utility Authority). The Kayenta solar farm was fully completed in 2019 and is the largest solar farm on any tribal land that is owned by the tribe (Navajo Tribal Utility Authority). It generates 55 megawatts of electricity which powers almost 30,000 homes in Navajo Nation. Through the construction of this solar farm, $9 million in wages has been paid, mainly to members of Navajo Nation, which will have a $25 million impact on the community (Navajo Tribal Utility Authority). This solar farm has begun to address the lack of access to electricity on the reservation by expanding access to 92 homes (Tohono O’odham Utility Authority). Approximately 18,000 homes in Navajo Nation do not have access to electricity, as of 2010, but this expansion of access for 92 homes is still impactful (Western Area Power Administration, 2010). These farms have contributed to achieving the goals of economic growth and self-reliance that the Navajo Tribal Utility Authority established while actively fighting the climate crisis through the usage of clean energy.
The Red Mesa Tapaha solar farm is currently being built by the Navajo Tribal Utility Authority and is projected to bring even more economic benefits to the Navajo community than the Kayenta solar farm. The Kayenta farm was built with the intention of supplying electricity to Navajo Nation, but the Red Mesa farm is being built to generate revenue for the tribal community by supplying renewable electricity off of the reservation (Navajo Tribal Utility Authority). This farm is projected to generate 70 megawatts of solar power and bring a revenue of over $20 million to Navajo Nation over its lifetime (Navajo Tribal Utility Authority). The revenue generated from these solar farms will be used to strengthen the Navajo community by funding the Light Up Navajo Initiative. Although this farm is not expanding energy access on reservation, it is using the production of clean energy to economically benefit the tribe. Through harnessing the solar energy potential in Navajo Nation, the NTUA is actively utilizing the transition to a clean energy future as a means of economic empowerment.
The construction of tribal-owned and operated renewable energy sources on Native American reservations has proven that the climate crisis can mitigate systemic disempowerment while increasing economic stability and economic growth. There is still so much potential for clean energy production, not only on Native American reservations, but throughout rural areas and marginalized communities within the United States and abroad. These community centered clean energy projects are proven to be successful in fighting the climate crisis while promoting economic empowerment. The immediate requirement to transition away from fossil fuel reliance needs to be done in a way that increases economic growth, and it can be done in a way that provides communities with economic stability and economic opportunity. We know how to stop the clock. So, solutions like tribal-owned and operated community solar need to be scaled to further the positive economic impacts in this transition to a clean energy future.
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