EV Charging Resources and Technical Assistance for Tribal Nations

EV Charging Resources and Technical Assistance for Tribal Nations

Nov. 15, 2023 | 1:00 p.m. – 2:00 p.m. CT

The Joint Office will host a webinar on resources and technical assistance available to Tribal Nations for EV charging infrastructure projects. The webinar will focus on Tribal EV initiatives through the White House Council on Native American Affairs, the U.S. Department of Transportation’s Rural EV Toolkit, as well as updates to the Joint Office Tribal Nations Resource and Technical Assistance page specific to Tribes from the Rural EV Toolkit that includes tribal specific EV funding opportunities, resources, and success stories.

Agenda:

  • Introduction from the Joint Office

  • Presentations

  • Q&A.

Speakers:

  • Shelbi Small, Tribal Nations Technical Assistance Lead for the Joint Office

  • Lily Ballengee, Policy Transportation Specialist for OST

  • Gentri White, Tribal Relations Specialist for USDA

  • Tedd Buelow, Tribal Relations Team Lead and Tribal Coordinator for USDA

Please note, the views and lessons learned expressed are informational only and have not been reviewed or endorsed by the Joint Office.

Register for November 15

November is National Native American Heritage Month

National Native American Heritage Month celebrates the diverse cultures of Native Americans and the contributions they have made to the United States and the world. It is an opportunity to educate the public on Native American history, and to acknowledge and honor Tribal sovereignty. This years theme is "Celebrating Tribal Sovereignty and Identity."

Here are a few examples of how you can celebrate National Native American Month this November:

  • Learn about Native Americans Heroes and Leaders

  • Participate in Native American Cultural Events

  • Explore Native American Cuisine

  • Read Native American Literature

  • Listen to Native American Podcasts

  • Support Native American Art and Artists

  • Engage with Native American Communities

Happy National Native American Heritage Month!

MTERA Welcomes the Lac Courte Oreilles Band of Lake Superior Chippewa as Member Tribe

MTERA proudly welcomes our 22nd Member Tribe - the Lac Courte Oreilles Band of Lake Superior Chippewa (LCO). The Lac Courte Oreilles Band of Lake Superior Chippewa historically occupied a large territory within a 100-mile radius of the current location of the Lac Courte Oreilles Reservation, located near Hayward, Wisconsin in northern Wisconsin. Today, they are the largest employer in Sawyer County, have several economic enterprises, and is also home to the Lac Courte Oreilles Ojibwe University. Welcome to the team, LCO!!

Historic FIRST Solar on Multifamily Affordable Housing project completed on Tribal land

At the foot of the Eastern Sierra Nevada mountains in Bishop, CA, sits the Bishop Paiute Tribe, the fifth largest California Tribe, with 2,000 members in one of the smallest land bases. 

With limited land, renewable energy technology, energy sovereignty, and sustainability have been at the forefront of the Tribe's environmental development–and now, after over 200 single-family home solar installations, they are making history. 

The Tribe became the first Tribal Nation to receive a solar installation incentive from the California Solar on Multifamily Affordable Housing (SOMAH) program. In partnership with GRID Alternatives Inland Empire and their workforce trainees, a 49 kW system was installed at Coyote Mountain Apartments, an affordable housing and sober living facility. Clean energy technology will save Tribal residents of this 24-unit complex almost $500,000 on their energy bills over the system's lifetime".

Read full story here

ICYMI: Transmission Planning 101 webinar

This webinar was part of a series to provide continued education on topics related to the wholesale electricity market and transmission planning. If you’ve found yourself feeling unclear on what the transmission grid is, how it’s planned, and how it affects your community’s goals, this webinar is an excellent opportunity to go over the basics. Watch webinar here

Speakers included:

Matt Prorok, Energy Systems, GPI

Jennie Chen, Clean Energy, World Resources Institute

Gretchen Kershaw, Grid Deployment Office, U.S. Department of Energy

Point of Contact :

Bridget Williams

Policy Associate, Energy Systems

Great Plains Institute

 

 

NOAA announces $2 million in funding for Tribal drought resilience

The Department of Commerce and National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA) announced $2 million in funding for projects to support Tribal drought resilience in the western United States. 

The funding will help Tribal nations address current and future drought risk on Tribal lands within five NIDIS Drought Early Warning System (DEWS) regions: California-Nevada, Intermountain West, Missouri River Basin, Pacific Northwest and Southern Plains. 

Proposals may request funding of up to $700,000 total to be disseminated in the first year and expended over three years in the form of cooperative agreements. A total of 3-5 projects may be funded depending on the project budget requested, according to a statement. 

“Drought poses a threat to the culture, economy, health and food availability of tribal nations,” Secretary of Commerce Gina Raimondo said in a statement. “As part of President Biden’s Investing in America agenda, a key pillar of Bidenomics, enhancing drought resilience with tribal partners in the West is a crucial step in building a Climate-Ready Nation and resilient communities.”

Applications should be developed by or in full partnership with Tribal nations to fund the implementation of activities that address current and future drought risk in the context of a changing climate on Tribal lands across the Western U.S.

Letters of Intent are due on Thursday, November 2, 2023. The deadline for application submission is Thursday, February 15, 2024.

For more information and to apply, visit the NOAA website.

EPA Announces Climate Pollution Reduction Implementation Grant Competitions

EPA has announced two competitions for CPRG implementation grants – a general competition for applications from states, municipalities, tribes, tribal consortia, and territories, and a competition only for tribes, tribal consortia, and territories. These competitions are open to entities that received planning grants to develop Priority Climate Action Plans (PCAPs) under phase 1 of the CPRG program, as well as entities that did not directly receive a planning grant that are applying for funds to implement measures included in an applicable PCAP. Eligible applicants may only apply for funding to implement measures contained in an applicable PCAP.

For the general competition, EPA anticipates awarding individual grants between $2 million and $500 million, with funding tiers allowing comparably sized projects to compete against one another. For the competition for tribes and territories, EPA anticipates awarding individual grants ranging between $1 million to $25 million.

Please read the Notices of Funding Opportunity below for more information about these competitions.

General Competition

Application packages must be submitted electronically to EPA through Grants.gov 

Tribes and Territories Only Competition

Application packages must be submitted electronically to EPA through Grants.gov 

Eligible Applicants 

Eligible applicants for the CPRG implementation grants competitions are limited to lead organizations for CPRG planning grants and other executive branch-level agencies, offices, and departments in states, D.C., Puerto Rico, municipalities, tribes, tribal consortia, territories, and groups of such entities applying for funding to implement measures contained in one or more applicable Priority Climate Action Plan (PCAP) developed with funding from a CPRG planning grant.

Please read the Notices of Funding Opportunity for these competitions for the most complete and up-to-date information about eligible applicants for these competitions.

Important Deadlines

Application packages must be submitted electronically to EPA through Grants.gov 

General competition:

  • Optional Notice of Intent to Apply due to CPRG@epa.gov by February 1, 2024.

  • Complete applications must be submitted through Grants.gov no later than April 1, 2024, at 11:59 p.m. (ET) in order to be considered for funding.

Tribes and territories only competition:

  • Optional Notice of Intent to Apply due to CPRG@epa.gov by March 1, 2024.

  • Complete applications must be submitted through Grants.gov no later than May 1, 2024, at 11:59 p.m. (ET) to be considered for funding.

Please read the Notices of Funding Opportunity for these competitions for the most complete and up-to-date information about application deadlines and timing for these competitions.

Training/Webinars

EPA will host overview webinars for each implementation grant competition for eligible applicants and other interested parties over the coming weeks. All sessions will be one hour long. EPA will post recordings of each webinar to the CPRG website. Please click on the links below to register for one or more of the scheduled sessions.

Full Overview Here

MTERA Welcomes Vanessa Farley

Please join us in welcoming, Vanessa Farley to the MTERA team!

We are excited to announce that Vanessa Farley has joined the team as a Tribal Energy Program Manager. Vanessa received her bachelor’s degree from Stanford University in Manufacturing Engineering with an emphasis on clean energy, and a minor in Comparative Studies in Race and Ethnicity.

Vanessa is passionate about creating community-led energy solutions to support energy sovereignty goals throughout Indian Country and is a licensed Mechanical Engineer-in-Training. In 2022, Vanessa interned with the National Renewable Energy Laboratory to research the effectiveness of community outreach in spurring energy efficiency technology adoption in Arctic communities. In 2020, Vanessa designed and installed a small solar array on a remote Alaskan island to contribute to the community's energy independence. In her role, Vanessa will provide critical leadership for Midwest Tribal Energy Resources (MTERA) programs.

Vanessa is an enrolled member of the Chippewa Cree Tribe of Rocky Boy Indians.

DOE Announces $3.5 Million to Provide Workforce Development Opportunities in Energy Communities

WASHINGTON, D.C. – The U.S. Department of Energy’s (DOE) Office of Fossil Energy and Carbon Management (FECM) today announced up to $3.5 million in federal funding available to help local communities across the country create a roadmap toward repurposing existing energy assets. The Capacity Building for Repurposing Energy Assets initiative will assist communities where a significant portion of their local economy has historically been supported by energy assets, such as coal, oil, and/or natural gas power facilities and accompanying equipment and infrastructure. The initiative will help these communities build technical capacity and develop a workforce necessary to help revitalize energy systems, address environmental impacts, and tackle challenges associated with energy assets that have been retired, or are slated for retirement. This effort advances FECM’s mission of minimizing environmental and climate impacts of energy systems and industrial processes while working to achieve net-zero emissions across our economy and the broader DOE mission of ensuring efficient transformation of the energy system while prioritizing labor and community engagement.

“As we work to reduce greenhouse gas emissions and expand deployment of clean energy technology and infrastructure, it’s imperative that we provide support to our nation’s energy communities to ensure they maximize economic, social, and environmental opportunities,” said Brad Crabtree, Assistant Secretary of Fossil Energy and Carbon Management. “Through this initiative, DOE will help our communities retain their local skilled workforces and productively leverage and repurpose the value of their existing infrastructure.”

Read Full Story Here

2023 Midwest Environmental Education Conference

To Hinųkwaseja: Restoring connections to land and each other

November 2-4, 2023 - La Crosse, Wisconsin

Place and Land (with a capital ‘P’ and ‘L’) have always been relevant to environmental education. This year, our conference will highlight the increasing importance of place-based relationships to a sustainable future. This requires particular attention to justice for Indigenous people. The theme serves as a call to support communities that must fight against displacement. Likewise, we must address the linkages between such displacement and environmental degradation. Hinųkwaseja is the Ho-Chunk name for the settlement at La Crosse. With this language, we show gratitude to our meeting Place.

The 2023 Midwest EE Conference is hosted at Stoney Creek Hotel and Conference Center in Onalaska, Wis., about 15 minutes from downtown La Crosse. Stoney Creek features access right outside the door to miles of hiking trails along the La Crosse River, and is in easy to access location close to I-90. Parking is onsite and free. Reserve your room at Stoney Creek before October 1st to ensure you get the conference rate. Use the Group Code (2311MEEC) to get a discounted rate for your stay!

Clean Energy Jobs

The U.S. Department of Energy’s Office of Energy Efficiency and Renewable Energy (EERE) is looking for enthusiastic, driven professionals to join our team and be Clean Energy Champions. We are seeking talented individuals with diverse perspectives and skills to help tackle the climate crisis. 

EERE leads research, development, demonstration, and deployment of innovations in renewable power, sustainable transportation, and energy-efficient technologies that will equitably accelerate the national transition to a clean energy economy. We are working to ensure clean energy investments, new jobs, and energy justice benefit all Americans.

You do not need to be a clean energy expert to have a clean energy career. Some EERE positions are scientific or technical, and others support business operations, human resources, strategic analysis, communications, and more.

https://www.energy.gov/eere/clean-energy-jobs

US launches program to provide electricity to more Native American homes

ALBUQUERQUE, N.M. (AP) — The U.S. Interior Department on Tuesday unveiled a new program to bring electricity to more homes in Native American communities as the Biden administration looks to funnel more money toward climate and renewable energy projects.

The program will be funded by an initial $72.5 million. In all, federal officials said $150 million is being invested from the Inflation Reduction Act to support the electrification of homes in tribal communities, many of which have seen mixed success over the decades as officials have tried to address the lack of adequate infrastructure in remote areas.

In 2022, the U.S. Energy Department's Office of Indian Energy issued a report citing that nearly 17,000 tribal homes were without electricity, with most being in southwestern states and in Alaska. Assistant Secretary for Indian Affairs Bryan Newland testified before Congress earlier this year that 1 in 5 homes on the Navajo Nation and more than one-third of homes on the neighboring Hopi reservation are without electricity.

Read Full Story Here

 
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