Clean energy projects offer a crucial path for Native American tribes to achieve energy sovereignty (control over their energy resources) and address a long history of energy inequity. Energy inequity for Tribes takes a variety of forms including higher utility rates, older grid infrastructure, more frequent outages, and, still today, 14% of Native Americans living on tribal lands lacking electricity altogether.

Our guest, Chéri Smith, is the founder, President, and CEO of the Alliance for Tribal Clean Energy, which supports the self-determined efforts of Tribes to develop clean energy. Chéri joins us in conversation about the energy inequities facing Native American communities and systemic barriers that currently impede Tribal development and ownership of clean energy projects. These include access to federal funding, interconnection process requirements that create undue burdens for Tribes, and more. Chéri shares how the Alliance is addressing these challenges by helping Tribes develop clean energy projects that can enable them to participate in wholesale energy markets (earn revenue), lower energy costs, and achieve energy resilience and sovereignty.

For show notes and transcript, visit: https://irecusa.org/blog/energy-optimist-podcast/the-energy-optimist-episode-8-in-our-lifetime-tribal-energy-sovereignty-and-equity/