Blog: Bureaucracy holds back renewable energy in Indian Country

Wednesday, February 2, 2011  

"Imagine, for a moment, that wind power installations went up on tribal lands all across the U.S. And that those green machines supplied 14-percent of the national energy consumption annually.

Says a report released by the Department of Energy, this is no farfetched fantasy—it’s actually feasible.

Not only that, but if tribes invested in solar power, that the same land could provide 4.5 times the amount of power needed for the entire country. So why aren’t we jumping at the chance to put our money where our mouth is and take renewables to the next level?

Currently, there is only one large-scale clean energy installation operating on tribal land, despite the fact that the majority of tribes are more than willing to invest in eco-friendly energy.

In truth, they would benefit from the cultivation of renewables through higher profits and more jobs that honor their desire to protect the environment."

Get the Story:
Why Clean Energy on Tribal Land isn’t Excess—It’s Essential (CalFinder 2/2)