Tribal Lands: An Emerging Market for Renewable Energy Development | Renewable Energy News Article

Renewable energy projects on tribal lands are fast becoming a reality. Tribal communities in the Southwestern United States reside on lands that are known to be rich with potential for the development of solar, wind, biomass, and geothermal facilities on a large commercial scale. Studies have found that tribal lands nationwide have the potential for producing up to 10 percent of the United States' renewable energy. This development could mean lower rates for electricity, new directions for the nation's energy industry and a new economic reality for some Native American tribes and their neighboring communities. To that end, tribal communities such as the Navajo Nation have begun to own and develop renewable energy projects on tribal lands.

This is no small feat.  For decades, tribal communities in this region have suffered high unemployment, poor social conditions and widespread poverty.  As the demand in the West for renewable energy grows, tribes have now recognized that they can diversify their resources and sell renewable energy and leverage their assets to spur economic development.  This could create an emerging, domestic market that would serve as a vehicle for economic development and a source of long-term revenue for tribal communities.