Rosebud Sioux Tribe eager to tap renewable energy resources

Wednesday, September 7, 2011  

The Rosebud Sioux Tribe of South Dakota is eager to tap into wind energy and geothermal energy but has been frustrated by state and federal red tape.

The tribe operates a 750-kilowatt turbine on the reservation that supplies power to the casino. But efforts to start a bigger wind farm have been met with some resistance.

The biggest issue appears to be with the Nebraska Public Power District. The state doesn't want to do business with entities outside of Nebraska.

"They won't buy our power, yet they charge the local utility a tariff fee that gets passed on to us, the local consumers. It's kind of unfair," tribal member Ken Haukaas told Courthouse News Service.

The tribe also approached the federal government to talk about supplying power to the Offutt Air Force Base in Nebraska. "But it really hasn't gone very far," Dale Osborn, the president of DisGen, a company that's working with the tribe.

Separately, the tribe is hosting two wind farm projects that will be run by outside entities.

Get the Story:
In a Quest for Renewable Energy, Tribes Try to Catch the Wind (Courthouse News Service 9/7)