"A little-noticed section of America�s new national energy policy could bring new jobs and opportunities to Indian Country and help reduce America�s dependence on foreign oil � but tribes need to act quickly if they want to take advantage of this opportunity.

The Energy Policy Act of 2005, signed by President Bush last August, contains a powerful new economic development tool � Clean Renewable Energy Bonds � to provide tribal governments with interest-free financing for renewable energy projects, such as wind facilities, closed and open loop biomass, geothermal, solar, landfill gas, trash combustion facilities, small irrigation power, and hydropower.

Many tribes are already in the alternative energy business. The Rosebud Sioux Tribe in South Dakota, for instance, is using the one great natural resource that was never taken from them � the wind � to create energy and jobs for its members. The tribe operates a giant wind turbine that generates enough electricity to power hundreds of homes.

The new Energy Policy Act authorizes $800 million in Clean Renewable Energy Bonds � CREB Bonds -- to help tribal and local governments and electric cooperatives develop their own alternative energy projects."

Get the Story:
Tom Daschle: Clean renewable energy bonds (The Native American Times 2/15)

Get the Bill:
Energy Policy Act of 2005 (H.R.6)

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