The Bureau of Indian Affairs has announced $2.5M in grants to develop tribal energy resources. Assistant Secretary for Indian Affairs Bryan Newland announced today that the Tribal Energy Development Capacity Grant Program awarded more than $2.5 million to federally recognized American Indian Tribes and Alaska Native entities to develop Tribal energy resources.
“These grants will assist Tribes in building capacity to manage energy development in their communities. As we look to a sustainable future, it is important that Tribes can regulate and benefit from energy development in their communities,” said Assistant Secretary Newland.
“By empowering Tribes to build this capacity, we are supporting Tribal sovereignty and economic development, and helping make lives better for people in Tribal communities.” The Tribal Energy Development Capacity Grant Program is a competitive, discretionary grant program that seeks to develop the Tribal management, organizational, and technical capacity Tribes need to maximize the economic impact of energy resource development on Indian land.
Each year, the program awards funding that provides Tribes with necessary resources to develop or enhance Tribal policies, codes, regulations, or ordinances related to energy resources, including land-lease regulations for energy development purposes in accordance with the Helping Expedite and Advance Responsible Tribal Homeownership Act, also known as the HEARTH Act. “These important grants provide Tribes with the opportunity to receive financial assistance to evaluate the energy and mineral resource potential of their lands,” said Acting Bureau of Indian Affairs Deputy Bureau Director for Trust Services Trina Lock
“In past years, these grants assisted Tribes with forming an intertribal energy agency to improve electric service to Alaska villages and conducting feasibility studies to establish Tribal utility authorities in California, Florida and Oklahoma.” Grant applications were evaluated by two independent review panels to ensure the most qualified projects were selected to receive funding. These panels reviewed the applications’ clarity and completeness, the expected contribution to the applicant’s capacity to regulate and manage energy resources, and the extent to which the anticipated outcome of a proposal met the applicant’s stated goals.
Resources
Official BIA Announcement + List of Grantees PDF
Tribal Energy Development Capacity (TEDC) Grants
