AP News
Summary
Tribal colleges and universities around the U.S. will be able to tap nearly $15 million in grant funding to boost clean energy development as part of the federal government’s latest investment in creating more reliable and sustainable electricity generation for Native American communities.
The U.S. Department of Energy announced the new funding opportunity last week. It comes on the heels of another $50 million round of grants for deploying clean energy technology across Indian Country, where many communities have long been without basic services such as running water, electricity and broadband internet.
“We know that there is a huge need for energy reliability but also for energy access in Indian Country,” said Wahleah Johns, director of the agency’s Office of Indian Energy.
Johns, who is from the Navajo Nation, described it as an energy crisis in which families — and tribal governments — often have to be creative when finding ways to operate on the fringes of major grids that supply Phoenix, Las Vegas and other cities with power.
That means developing micro-grids or installing solar panels so residents can power refrigerators or charge up cellphones and laptops, she said.
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