During the 42nd Annual NAFOA Conference, the Department of Energy’s Loan Programs Office (LPO) Director Jigar Shah shared with attendees an overview of the recent conditional commitment for a loan guarantee to the Viejas Microgrid and/or microgrid projects for high-load centers like gaming, hospitality, and retail facilities — can be great candidates for the Tribal Energy Financing Program.
To follow up on the announcement, NAFOA will host a webinar with the Department of Energy on Tuesday, June 4, from 1-2 p.m. EDT. Members of the Tribal Energy Finance Program team will share more about how solar-plus-storage and microgrid projects can address the needs of Tribes’ high-load facilities, how LPO would work with Tribes on such projects, and answer questions about the topics.
About Our Speakers
Arpita Bhattacharyya, Chief Climate Officer, Loan Programs Office of the U.S. Department of Energy (DOE)
Bhattacharyya works across the interagency to reduce barriers and enable clean energy deployment to meet the Biden Administration’s priorities. She was most recently Chief of Staff in the Office of the Deputy Secretary. In addition to managing the Deputy Secretary’s office and advising the budget, she was the lead for the Office of Science, ARPA-E, Sustainability, and the National Labs in the Secretary’s office. Before DOE, she led strategic projects at Impossible Foods, working to bring low-emission food technology to market.
Charles Snow, Senior Consultant/Transaction Specialist, Loan Programs Office of the U.S. Department of Energy (DOE)
Before joining the Tribal Energy Finance Program, Snow earned an M.S. in
supply chain management at the Massachusetts Institute of Technology
Center for Transportation and Logistics. Prior to that, he worked in
project development with a range of technologies, including sustainable
aviation fuel, methanol, and anaerobic digestion. In addition to the
M.S. in Supply Chain Management, Charles received a Bachelor of Computer
Science from the University of New Brunswick.
Paul Dearhouse, Senior Consultant, Loan Programs Office in the Tribal Energy Finance Program.
Dearhouse’s passion lies in connecting Indigenous communities to resources that support community goals and self-determination in areas such as clean energy development, energy efficiency, housing, food systems, and language and culture. He has helped diverse organizations such as Government agencies and laboratories, Universities, and non-profit and for-profit companies design and implement programs. Dearhouse is Mohawk from Kahnawake Mohawk Territory, QC and Anishinaabe descent from Sault Ste. Marie, MI and Aundeck Omni Kaning, ON
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