Solar panels being installed at KILI Radio on the Pine Ridge Reservation in South Dakota. Photo by Tom Crash
Renewable energy training
KILI Radio adds 3KW solar array to existing 2KW array
By Tom Crash
Lakota Country Times Correspondent PINE RIDGE – “There is a lot more interest in renewable energy today, people stop me all the time to ask about possibilities or what direction the tribe is going,” said Lyle Jack who has been working with the Oglala Sioux Tribe on renewable energy and is currently involved in the developmental stages of the Oceti Sakowin Power Authority. “We’re about two years out, we’re going to DC to meet with USDA about $15 million in start-up monies; our goal is about 400 megawatts a year, it takes about 8 megs a month to power Pine Ridge so we’re looking at developing enough wind power for each of the tribal partners with a lot left over to sell on the market," Jack said. Currently on Pine Ridge there are a few small residential wind turbines. The hospital in Pine Ridge installed a 50 KW solar array and added a 10KW on the roof. The OST Economic Development office worked with a company that brought in four large wind turbines to be installed at Prairie Wind Casino – the groundbreaking was held a year ago in August but they have yet to be installed. Using a development grant on Rosebud, 13 individual homes were able to set up a 1KW turbines. “This summer, we added a 3KW solar array to the roof of KILI Radio, three years ago we had installed a 2KW solar array,” said Henry Red Cloud, owner and operator of Lakota Solar Enterprises. "Through both of those installations, we were able to train 12-15 tribal representatives from Cheyenne River, White River, Sisseton Wahpeton, Northern Cheyenne, Oklahoma tribes and Oglalas."
Solar panels being installed at KILI Radio on the Pine Ridge Reservation in South Dakota. Photo by Tom Crash
Renewable energy training
'This was a huge success," Red Cloud said. "Over the years, we’ve trained about 550 people in solar energy, grid tie systems. Our goal is about creating jobs, developing residential scale renewable energy – everybody wins, the homeowner, grandmas, local people, tribal programs and LIEAP all save money.” In late July, Red Cloud brought 15 students to learn about installing a solar array and tying it into existing services. The effort was a culmination of several efforts, Lakota Solar, Trees Water and People, Solar Energy International, Solar Solutions, Remember and KILI Radio. Red Cloud feels the value of the first 2KW array was $5,500 and the most recent 3KW array at $12,000. “We get our power from Basin Electric -- they have both helped build a 150 megawatt wind farm in North Dakota and purchase power from renewable energy sources,” said Wayne Sterkel, general manager of LaCreek Electric Cooperative, “By law, if they purchase power from renewable sources then they need to have a gas plant as a backup in case the wind dies down. We don’t see very much small residential development, without grants or tax credits -- the break-even point on a small wind turbine would take 20-30 years. There’s about 13 residential turbines on Rosebud that were paid for through as grant. Cost of power is going up 6.5% on January 1.”
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“We’ve probably helped as many as 400 families with small residential renewable power,” said Red Cloud. “Currently we‘re working on building a compressed earth block house, south of 18 on BIA 41 for Leonard Peltier’s grandchildren. It’d be over 1,600 square feet, we’re using clay and hemp to build blocks, we started Aug. 14, should be done soon." “We’re also working on net metering with Dakota Rural Action so if you produce power from renewable energy and sell it to electric cooperatives, it’ll be on a 1:1 basis," Red Cloud added. "It’ll help bring down the cost of developing renewable energy." Find the award-winning Lakota Country Times on the Internet, Facebook and Twitter.
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