Energize Wind River is working to bring stand-alone solar power systems to roughly 40 Eastern Shoshone homes on the Wind River Reservation. But with $2 million in federal construction funding currently on hold, the team is searching for other ways to make the project a reality on the ground.
With assistance from the Wyoming Energy Co-op, the Eastern Shoshone Housing Authority (ESHA) received a nearly $8 million grant from the Bureau of Indian Affairs’ Tribal Electrification Program last fall. ESHA then launched the Energize Wind River project with support from the co-op. Construction was slated to start this spring.
But according to Energize Wind River Director Levi Purdum, about a quarter of that funding is now on pause as a result of switch in presidential administration. That pause comes alongside the Trump administration’s efforts to downsize the federal government and reprioritize fossil fuels.
“ The ‘but’ would be that our construction funding is currently ‘on hold pending review,’ is the language that's been shared with us,” Purdum said. “ We've been in that position for a while.”
A representative from the Bureau of Indian Affairs declined to comment.
Other tribal nations across the country are facing similar issues amid budget cuts by the Trump administration.
Energize Wind River has eight full-time employees, seven of whom live on the reservation. Purdum explained that although the project still has funding for training, employees, and outreach and has been moving forward in those lanes, it’s unable to buy or install the actual solar equipment.
But he said he remains optimistic that the rest of the federal grant money will eventually come through.
“ We do keep hearing about how the current administration wants to increase American energy production and that always perks our ears, [because] that's very much what what our project is about,” he said.
Seeking other options
But for now, Energize Wind River is pursuing other opportunities to keep the ball rolling. It secured a $20,000 grant from the Nature Conservancy to hire a fundraising specialist who’ll specifically focus on non-governmental sources. The group is also partnering with the Jackson Hole Center for Global Affairs to build more connections with non-profit organizations.
ESHA Interim Executive Director Gilbert Riche said the tribe’s Housing Authority got a nearly $2 million grant from the U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development in early December. He said it could help fill in the gaps for the solar projects.
“That grant will be used to provide critical infrastructure and housing development potential, so we're trying to figure out how we can align that grant funding to assist our own housing projects and to assist Energize Wind River,” he said.
ESHA also secured a $45,000 grant to conduct a community needs assessment focused on electricity consumption and weatherization, which will be supported by Energize Wind River field staff. That funding came from the Enterprise Community Partners and Wells Fargo’s Invest Native Program.
Project impacts
Energize Wind River Co-Director Letara Lebeau said the project has the potential to increase economic development on the reservation and create more jobs.
“ The solar energy project is really inspiring and it's an opportunity for our community to learn about something new and give them the advantage to have the practice of their sovereignty,” she said.
Lebeau is also the project’s field supervisor and added that people on the ground have expressed a lot of interest and curiosity about the project, especially in such a rural place.
“ Speaking with some of the elder societies, they're excited,” she said. “This is something new to them and they've been really curious about what solar energy is about and having an independent energy source on their own.”
The first goal of Energize Wind River is to bring solar energy to ESHA’s 21-home Medicine Water Road project, with the hope of supporting other future projects, like the lease-to-purchase Black Horse subdivision. Purdum explained that the next goal is to support individual unelectrified homes.
“We very much anticipate focusing on the homes that are pretty remote, where the cost to even connect them to the grid would be a lot of money,” he said.
Purdum said that despite the on-hold construction funding, the rest of the money from the Tribal Electrification Program grant has helped create a foundation of employees, training and outreach to help keep the project moving forward.
“ When we're applying to future grants, we can say [that] the vast majority of any future funding towards this project is going to go towards systems directly for homes,” he said. “That definitely gives us a leg up.”
If it’s able to cover the on-hold funds, Energize Wind River still plans to start construction on solar power systems later this spring.
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