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- By Timothy Nuvangyaoma, Catherine Zingg, Talia Martin, Daniel Wiggins, and Dr. Crystal Miller
In a world where energy demand and grid expansion continues to rise, which communities will remain powered? The impact of removing these critical funds for Tribal Nations remains deep.
Guest Opinion. After the recent passage of the “One Big Beautiful Bill” Act with its rollbacks of solar incentives, another shock wave ripples through the solar industry with threats to claw back the $7 billion investment into low-income communities through EPA’s Solar For All Program. As reported by the New York Times and other outlets earlier this week, EPA is preparing termination letters for all Solar For All grantees, including the $500 million directly funding Tribally-driven projects. These grants have already been legally obligated through contractual agreements. That Act, however, did not provide any new authority for EPA to go back on its contractual promises and terminate active Solar For All grants, which are well into planning, piloting, and implementation phases.
As we await agency action, we cannot deny the hard truth about energy disparities in Indian Country. Solar support is especially vital for Tribal communities that face enormous disparities in the absence of dedicated funding for electrical infrastructure. According to DOE’s Tribal Electricity Access and Reliability Report, 17,000 Tribal homes remain without electricity to this day. Compared to the national average, Tribal members within Indian Country face an energy burden over 28% higher and experience 6.5 times the amount of power outages per year. The need for investment in Tribal communities through a variety of energy options is necessary and apparent. Without dedicated funding for electrical infrastructure, Tribes will continue to be left in the dark.
"There are at least 900 homes on the Hopi Reservation that don't have electricity access, most of which don't even have the option to become grid-connected because they're too far from the single distribution line that serves Hopi, and the cost is prohibitively expensive,” says Hopi Tribal Chairman Timothy Nuvangyaoma, one of the six Tribal awardees, “Residential solar systems are the best and most cost-efficient means to electrify these homes, and if the Hopi Solar for All award agreement is terminated by EPA, these families will be forced to continue living without electricity."
This EPA program has meant more than addressing the unique disparities of Tribes—the clean energy revolution and the next generation of infrastructure development cannot take place without Tribes being a focal point of the conversation. Indian Country must be seen as essential for national rural development overall. We’ve already seen a collective tribal commitment to pursuing bold energy solutions, and our communities must not only be a part of national discussions, but we must see agencies adapt their programs to reflect the needs of Tribal Nations, to reduce unnecessary burdens and bureaucratic obstacles.
Lasting change across Indian Country will only take place when Tribes are empowered to lead this change, and Solar For All is seen as a promising step that shows commitment from a federal program to address a tangible need within Tribal communities.
“It is clear that the electricity demand in this country is not diminishing any time soon,” says Catherine Zingg, Tribal Energy Alternatives Policy Director, “And by disinvesting in our Tribal communities that are still overly burdened, that face brownouts, that see some of the highest electricity bills, we are continuing the narrative to the American people that some communities matter more than others. More than unlawful, this is harmful to the Tribes we work with.”
Over the next five years, the Western Indigenous Network-Solar For All (WIN-SFA) Program led by Tribal Energy Alternatives Inc. (TEA), another Tribal awardee of the EPA’s Program, expects to provide 20% bill savings to over 2,900 tribal households in a six-state footprint which includes Arizona, Colorado, California, New Mexico, Nevada, and Utah. This would total over $94 million in savings and 14 MW of solar projects within both blue, red, and purple states. After months of intensive work, preparation, and community engagement, Tribal Energy Alternatives has already launched their WIN-SFA pilot project phase and hopes to award both residential and community solar-sized Tribal projects this year. In each of these projects, if they are allowed to move forward, there will be robust workforce development aimed at training Tribal members on how to maintain solar systems and prepare them for a future career pathway in the solar industry.
“When we applied for this grant, the intent was to serve Tribal Nations in the same excellence we have always done,” says Talia Martin, Co-Executive Director of Tribal Energy Alternatives, “This program was meant to design an energy future not just for ourselves in the now, but for generations to come.”
"MTERA is urging the U.S. EPA not to terminate these SFA funds that will benefit not only Tribal Nations, but regional rural economies with good-paying jobs and abundant, cheap electrical power," said Daniel Wiggins, Executive Director of MTERA, currently deploying $62 million of solar energy for Tribal citizens in the Midwest. "SFA funds are being used by MTERA to help low-income Tribal communities take advantage of new technologies while reducing their energy footprints. By terminating these grants, EPA is harming Tribal and non-Tribal communities while violating their rights to new energy technologies and opportunities. EPA must further keep their trust responsibility to all Tribal Nations and allow MTERA to complete the SFA initiative with Midwest Tribes."
Additionally, five other Tribal awards are at risk including: $62 million for the Midwest Tribal Energy Resources Association, $25 million for the Hopi Utilities Corporation, $156 for Oweesta Corporation, $62 million for the Alaska Tribal Solar For All, and $135 million for the Three Affiliated Tribes. Given the immense investment of this program into Tribal communities, TEA and other Tribal advocates remain committed to seeing this money reach the intended communities it is meant to serve.
“If the White House allows the termination of the Solar For All program, it will be more than just a broken promise, it will be a blatant betrayal of Tribal sovereignty and a direct assault on energy justice in Indian Country. We are talking about families who have lived without electricity for generations. We are talking about clean energy solutions by Tribes, for Tribes, and now threatened by the very system that claimed to support equity and climate action. Stripping this $500 million from Tribal communities is not just morally bankrupt, it is systemic erasure by design. The Alliance for Tribal Clean Energy stands with every Native Nation and every Native household still waiting for the lights to turn on. We will not sit quietly while another federal commitment to Indian Country is walked back behind closed doors,” says Dr. Crystal Miller, Head of Government and Policy Relations at the Alliance for Tribal Clean Energy.
The termination letters are reportedly in draft form and planned to be sent out within days. While an EPA spokesperson reports that there has been “no final decision” on the status of the grants, the Trump Administration’s previous actions against solar, climate centered investment, and remedying ongoing injustices suggests a hostility to programs like Solar For All. Before it’s too late, EPA and White House officials must heed the call of Tribal leaders, together with the other Solar For All awardees, to stop interfering with this lawful and important program to improve energy access and reduce burdens for our communities.
Timothy Nuvangyaoma is Hopi Tribal chairman; Catherine Zingg serves as Tribal Energy Alternatives policy director; Talia Martin is co-executive director of Tribal Energy Alternatives; Daniel Wiggins is executive director of MTERA; and Crystal Miller is head of Government and Policy Relations of Alliance for Tribal Clean Energy.
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