Tribal Solar Projects Provide More Than Climate Solutions


credit: Flickr

"We are disrupting the broken fossil fuel-based energy system," says Cheri Smith, a co-founder of Covenant Solar, a nonprofit that has installed solar panels on the Northern Cheyenne Indian Reservation in Montana and the Standing Rock Sioux Reservation in North Dakota.

"This is economic development with really high human impact."

The Billings Gazette reports more than 175,000 acres of the Northern Cheyenne Indian Reservation in central Montana were burned by two wildfires in August, forcing the evacuation of Lame Deer, the largest town on the reservation.

Smith and her husband, Cody Two Bears, helped organize a fundraiser to get 300 kilowatts of solar power installed on the reservation.

"The majority of solar being done on reservations don't address core issues of poverty and lack of self-determination," Smith tells the Gazette.

But solar isn't just for tribes.

Robert Blake, founder of replacement fossil fuel replacement company Solar Power Development, is working with the Red Lake Reservation in Minnesota, where he's also a member, to develop solar energy on reservations.

"We are disrupting the broken fossil fuel-based energy system," Smith says.

"This is economic development with really high human impact."

But solar isn't just for tribes.

In places like Montana, climate change-driven warmer temperatures, drier...

Read the Entire Article


Selected Grant News Headlines

A customized collection of grant news from foundations and the federal government from around the Web.

Spokane Businesses Owned by People of Color Awarded New State Grant Funds

People of color make up about 20% of Spokane County, Wash., but they own about 8% of the county's businesses, reports the Spokesman-Review. That's why the Spokane Workforce Council is...more

Press Release: Ok Arts Council Grants and Programs Offered for Fiscal Year 2025

The Oklahoma Arts Council has released its annual list of grant requests, and it's a doozy. This year's list includes a call for artists to "bring the arts to other statewide organizations," as...more

Sustainable Finance Influencers: Bob Helmuth

One of the world's biggest asset managers is taking a stand against climate changeby investing in some of the world's poorest countries. Envestnet, which has more than $100 billion in assets...more

Rotary Club of Hagerstown Foundation Awards Local Grants

The Rotary Club of Hagerstown has handed out $62,800 in grants to 25 charities in the Washington County area, reports the Herald-Mail. The grants were awarded at a June 19 lunch held by the club,...more

Thriving Health &Amp; Wellness Communities: Technogym and Live Work Learn Play Unite for ...

If you're in the market for a new place to live, Technogym has just the thing for you. The fitness equipment and technology company has announced a partnership with Live Work Learn Play, a real...more

Bits + Bytes: A Miscellany of Technology

Amazon plans to build a data center in Malaysia, Microsoft is investing in the country's new cloud and artificial intelligence infrastructure, and Malaysia Digital Economy Corporation (MDEC) is...more

Ilo Prospects Lebanon Supports Social Enterprise Initiatives in Lebanon

When Kinda Darwish decided to start a bakery in Beirut, she had no idea she'd end up kneading dough for the International Labor Organization and running a second-hand bookstore in the Lebanese...more

New Haven Nonprofit Cityseed Names Sarah Miller as New Executive Director

A Yale grad with more than 20 years of nonprofit and community leadership experience has been named the new executive director of a Connecticut nonprofit that helps people grow their own food, Fox...more

Dr. Hamis Kiggundu: From Entrepreneur to Global Leader €“ An Inspiring Journey

Hamis Kiggundu's journey from "humble beginnings" in Uganda to "be a global icon in business and philanthropy" has just taken him to a new level. The European International University in Paris...more

Community Land Trusts: An 'Old-School' Innovation with 'New School' Structural Applications

A community land trust, or CLT, is a non-profit organization that purchases land on behalf of its members and sells it at discount rates to people who otherwise wouldn't be able to buy homes of...more





Washington, D.C. based incubator for social entrepreneurs, Halcyon Incubator, has selected seven ventures to move into the newly renovated Halcyon House in September for its inaugural class of fellows.