This is an excerpt from EERE Network News, a weekly electronic newsletter.

May 22, 2013

Tribes to Receive New Energy Department Assistance for Clean Energy

The Energy Department on May 20 announced that five tribes will receive technical assistance through the Strategic Technical Assistance Response Team (START) Program for renewable energy project development and installation. These awards are part of the Department's broader efforts to help tribal communities across the United States enhance their energy security and build a sustainable, clean energy future.

Through the START program, Energy Department and national laboratory experts work directly with tribal communities to evaluate project financial and technical feasibility, provide on-going training to community members, and help implement a variety of clean energy projects, including energy storage infrastructure, renewable energy deployment, and energy efficiency. Since its launch in 2012, the START program has helped 11 Native American and Alaska Native communities cut energy waste and deploy local renewable energy projects.

For the 2013 START program, the Chugachmiut Regional Corporation of Port Graham, Alaska, will receive technical assistance to support its plans to replace a local, community-scale, hot water distribution system with a new energy-efficient biomass plant, which will use local wood; the Ho-Chunk Nation of Black River Falls, Wisconsin, will receive technical assistance with the development of a one–to–two megawatt biomass waste-to-energy plant; the Pinoleville Pomo Nation of Ukiah, California, will receive technical assistance to help deploy a planned three megawatt solar utility project; the San Carlos Apache Tribe of San Carlos, Arizona, will receive technical assistance to help finance and install a one megawatt community-scale solar photovoltaic array; and the Southern Ute Indian Tribe of Ignacio, Colorado, will receive technical assistance with a community-scale solar photovoltaic project that will power tribal facilities and residences. See the Energy Department press release.