National Renewable Energy Laboratory

WIND POWER ON NATIVE AMERICAN LANDS: 

OPPORTUNITIES, CHALLENGES, AND STATUS

Tribal Expectations from Partners

A.Jimenez, NREL P.B. Johnson, NREL

R. Gough, ICOUP R. Robichaud, NREL

L. Flowers, NREL R. Taylor, NREL

Projects on Tribal Land Are Different

• Inability to monetize Production Tax Credit (PTC) and 

accelerated depreciation (affects projects with tribal equity 

interest)

• Tribal tax advantages: Not as valuable as the PTC. Projects 

with non-tribal partners may lose these tax advantages

• More stringent environmental regulations (NEPA)

• Agreements require multiple levels of review: Tribal, BIA, FWS, 

EPA, THPO/SHPO

• Land ownership often varies within the reservation 

(checkerboarding): Trust, Allotted, Fee. Needed permissions 

and tax status vary depending on ownership status

• Tribal sovereignty/Tribal policies/Native American law: 

Applicable laws and jurisdictions vary with regard to projects 

and contracts

• Optimal business structure with tribal equity interest has not 

emerged. 

Existing and Pending Native American Wind 

Projects: 50 kW and Larger

(May 30, 2007)

In-Place Projects

1 - Spirit Lake Sioux (Fort Totten, ND)

• 1x 100-kW turbine

• Meets part of casino load

• Installed 1996

• Financing: TEP grant

2 - Turtle Mountain Band of Chippewa (Belcourt, ND)

• 1x 100-kW turbine

• Meets part of wastewater treatment plant load

• Installed 1996

• Financing: TEP grant

3 - Rosebud Sioux (Rosebud Reservation, SD)

• 1x 750-kW turbine

• Energy sold to Basin Electric and Ellsworth AFB

• Green tags sold to Ellsworth AFB and Native Energy

• Installed: 2003

• Financing: TEP grant, RUS loan

4 - Blackfeet (Browning, MT)

• 1x 100-kW turbine

• Energy sold to local utility

• Installed 1996

• Development supported by TEP

• Financing: TEP grant

5 –Campo Band of Kumeyaay (Campo Reservation, 

CA)

• 50 MW

• Installed 2005

• Privately owned project: leasing land from the Tribe

6 - Three Affiliated Tribes (Fort Berthold, ND)

• 1x 66-kW turbine

• Energy sold to local utility

• Installed 2005

• Financing: TEP grant

Near-Term Projects

14 - Northern Cheyenne (Lame Deer, MT)

• 30 MW

• Installation expected in 2007

• Development (pre-construction) work financed with 

TEP grant

• Tribe will retain an equity interest

15 – Hopi (AZ)

• 15 MW

• Installation expected in 2008

• Privately owned project: leasing land from the Tribe

• Hopi planning to follow up with a wind project in 

which the tribe will retain an equity interest

16 - Rosebud Sioux (St. Francis, SD)

• 30 MW

• Installation expected in 2007

• Development (pre-construction) work financed with 

TEP grant

• Tribe will retain an equity interest

17 - Oglala Sioux (Pine Ridge, SD)

• 65 kW

• Installation expected in 2007

• Supply power to KILI Radio Station

7 - Kotzebue Electric Association (KEA) (Kotzebue, AK)

• 10 x 66-kW turbines

• 1x 100-kW turbine

• Initial installation: 1997, subsequently expanded

• Low-penetration wind-diesel system

8 - TDX Power, Inc. (St. Paul Island, AK)

• 1x 225-kW turbine

• High-penetration wind-diesel system for TDX industrial area

• Installed 1999

• Financing: Commercial financing

9 - Alaska Village Electric Cooperative (AVEC) (Wales, AK)

• 2x 66-kW turbines

• High-penetration wind-diesel system

• Installed 2000

10 - Alaska Village Electric Cooperative (AVEC) (Selawik, AK)

• 2x 66-kW turbines

• High-penetration wind-diesel system

• Installed 2000

11 - Alaska Village Electric Cooperative (AVEC) (Toksook Bay, 

AK)

• 4x 100-kW turbines

• High-penetration wind-diesel system

• Installed 2006

12 - Assiniboine and Sioux Tribes (Fort Peck, MT)

• 2x 50-kW turbine

• Energy will be used within the reservation

• Installed July 2006

• Financing: TEP grant

13 - Alaska Village Electric Cooperative (AVEC) (Kasigluk, AK)

• 3x 100-kW turbines

• High-penetration wind-diesel system

• Installed June 2006

Business Models

• Tribally Owned: e.g., TDX Power, Blackfeet

• Joint Venture: No current examples. Tribes evaluating 

lessons from community wind experience.

• Land lease to third-party owner: e.g., Kumeyaay

Tribal Wind Opportunities and Issues

• Wind resource

• Transmission access

• Renewable energy for climate change mitigation

• Environmental justice

• Federal outreach programs (DOE TEP, WPA, DOI/BIA MAP, 

USDA 9006)

• Wind-hydro integration

• Federal green energy preference

• Purchase by Intertribal COUP of Native Energy, a green 

tag broker (supporting tribal wind projects by purchasing 

green tags at beginning of project)

• Clean Renewable Energy Bonds (CREBs).

• Respect for tribal sovereignty and self-determination

• Native American culture places a high premium on face-toface interaction 

• Extensive outreach to local community

• Respect for tribal cultural artifacts and spiritual sites

• Maximum opportunity for local training and jobs. Tribal Energy Program: www.eere.energy.gov/tribalenergy/

Wind Powering America: www.windpoweringamerica.gov

The information contained in this poster is subject to a government license | WINDPOWER 2007 | Los Angeles, CA | June 3-6, 2007 | PO-500-41746

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Legend

New Wind Monitoring 

(Installed after June 2006)

Current Wind Monitoring

Feasibility Study and/or 

Development Work

Pending Project

Installed Project