- The electricity program would be funded by an initial $72.5 million.
- The program will provide financial and technical assistance to connect tribal homes to transmission and distribution powered by renewable energy.
The United States Interior Department has launched a new program to provide electricity to more homes in Native American communities and address the lack of adequate infrastructure in remote areas. The program comes as the Biden administration plans to increase funding for climate and renewable energy projects. It would be funded by an initial $72.5 million, with $150 million to be invested from the Inflation Reduction Act to support the electrification of homes in tribal communities.
Approximately 17,000 tribal homes (mostly in southwestern states and Alaska) were said to lack electricity in 2022, as indicated in the US Energy Department’s Office of Indian Energy report. Earlier this year, the Assistant Secretary for Indian Affairs, Bryan Newland, said that one in five homes on the Navajo Nation and more than one-third of homes on the neighbouring Hopi reservation lack electricity.
In a statement, Newland described the development as a historic investment to fund long-overdue needs in tribal communities, which will have a fundamental and significant impact on businesses, communities and families. The program would provide financial and technical assistance to connect tribal homes to transmission and distribution powered by renewable energy, which could, in turn, transition electrified homes in tribal communities to zero-emissions energy systems, cover the costs of repairs, and retrofitting necessary to install the new systems.