Around the nation many organizations have zeroed in on the nexus where renewable energy development meets environmental justice – renewables on tribal lands.

Marginalized and struggling to address a range of socioeconomic and environmental problems, the 566 Native American tribes recognized by the federal government as eligible to receive services from the Department of Interior’s Bureau of Indian Affairs are increasingly looking to leverage and capitalize on their green energy resources. And, in contrast to past experiences with energy resource development, they’re looking to exert a greater degree of autonomy and earn a greater share of the benefits in doing so.

Just last week, the Moapa Band of Paiutes announced plans to develop as much as 1.5 gigawatts (GW) worth of solar energy projects on tribal lands in Clark County, Nevada. This time around, they will not only receive lease payments for use of their land, as they do for a 350-MW solar power project – the first to be approved by the Department of Interior on Native American tribal lands, but they are taking a majority equity stake in an initial new project – a 250-MW solar PV facility. Local hiring, direct and indirect knock-on economic effects and revenue from selling power to electric utilities across the Southwest will add additional economic benefit.