New Approaches for Improving Energy Efficiency in Indian Country

John Elliott, Native American Renewable Energy Education Project
John Busch, Lawrence Berkeley National Laboratory
JackDavey, Rosebud Sioux Tribe Utility Commission

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Abstract

This paper presents an overview of opportunities and barriers associated with two new approaches for improving the energy efficiency of buildings in American Indian communities. The first approach arises from a recent shift in federal Indian housing policy marked by the implementation in 1998 of the Native American Housing Assistance Self-Determination Act. This legislation has eliminated most federal Indian housing programs and replaced them with an annual block grant. This has provided flexibility and new authority for tribal housing entities to effectively sponsor energy-efficiency activities. The second approach relies on a performance contractingmechanism in which energy service companies provide up-front capital for energy-efficiency improvements, and negotiate a contract to be paid from the energy cost savings that result from the project. While this approach is limited typically to situations in which relatively large projects are possible, it has attracted interest in American Indian communities that often lack sources of capital. Both approaches are illustrated using activities on the Rosebud Sioux reservation, located in south-central South Dakota, as a case study.