This 250-megawatt Moapa Southern Paiute Solar Project in Nevada was the first utility- scale solar farm on tribal lands.
A Bright Energy Option The Moapa Band of Paiutes’s sprawling 72,000-acre desert res- ervation in southern Nevada seems like it has plenty of room for an industrial-scale solar farm. However, the project’s 2,000- acre plot still had to be carefully positioned to avoid sacred sites and a historic Spanish trail. The tribe also had to mitigate impacts to the habitat of the endangered desert tortoise. Once the place for the panels was selected, William Ander-
son, a member of the Moapa Band of Paiutes and the tribe’s chairman at the time, had to quickly learn as much as possible about bringing a solar farm to his community. “I had a crash course in solar,” he wrote in a Department of Energy report. “I had to find out everything I could in a month . . . I saw the oppor- tunity for our people and decided I’m going to do everything I can to make this project come into being.” On March 21, 2014, tribal leaders, community members,
utility company representatives and even the late Senator Harry Ried were in attendance to see the groundbreaking cer- emony of what is now a 250-megawatt Moapa Southern Paiute Solar Project. It was a historic day: the project became the first utility-scale solar farm on tribal land. According to First Solar, the company that helped the
Maopa tribe create the project, the farm provides electricity to about 111,000 homes on tribal lands and Los Angeles per year, displacing approximately 341,000 metric tons of carbon
dioxide that would have been produced annually by power plants to do the same—”the equivalent of taking about 73,000 cars off the road.” “I think there are endless opportunities for tribes in renew-
able energy,” Anderson said. “We’ve set the template for others to follow. We are a small tribe in the middle of a desert. If we can do this, anyone can.” Anderson, who passed away at just 44, was honored for his contributions to renewable energies for his tribe.
Land of Hidden Possibilities In a state known for being dark half of the year and having com- munities that are small and far apart, Alaska may not seem like an ideal spot for alternative energies such as solar and wind farms. Michelle Wilber is an engineer at the Alaska Center for Energy and Power, a research institution at the University of Alaska Fairbanks, said she has to deal with that stereotype a lot. She said, “Believe it or not, we have to justify ourselves with every grant application we write.” Yet Alaska, she said, offers “an abundance of opportunity for renewable energies.” Certain areas of Alaska receive nearly 24 hours of sunlight
in the summer and 24 hours of dark in the winter. “Yes, our sun angle is low,” Wilber said, “But if you look at the solar resources that we provide year-round, we are about the same as Germany. Germany had for the longest time the highest per capita solar installation anywhere.”
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COURTESY OF U.S. DEPARTMENT OF ENERGY OFFICE OF INDIAN ENERGY AND POLICY AND PROGRAMS; NEXT SPREAD: PHOTO BY DENNIS SCHROEDER, NATIONAL RENEWABLE ENERGY LABORATORY. COURTESY OF U.S. DEPARTMENT OF ENERGY OFFICE OF INDIAN ENERGY AND POLICY AND PROGRAMS
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