Message from the Director for the Spring/Summer 2016 newsletter.
Office of Indian Energy Policy and Programs
May 10, 2016
minute read time
Dear Friends,
The Office of Indian Energy is proud to stand behind the visionary leadership exemplified by the American Indian and Alaska Native communities recently selected to receive U.S. Department of Energy (DOE) funding and technical assistance for a diverse array of energy projects.
Each of the 24 communities selected for awards through the Office of Indian Energy’s Deployment of Clean Energy and Energy Efficiency on Tribal Lands funding opportunity has invested considerable time and resources developing proposals for projects they identified as impactful and a feasible means of increasing energy self-sufficiency and strengthening their tribal economies. Each obtained official support through Tribal Council resolutions or other evidence of leadership support. Each submitted energy project proposals and, through a competitive process, was selected for funding to move their projects forward.
The $9 million Office of Indian Energy investment will be leveraged by nearly $16 million in tribal cost share, bringing the total value of the projects to more than $25 million. Collectively, these strategic energy solutions are expected save the communities three times that amount—more than $75 million—in estimated energy costs over the life of the installations.
In addition to these projects, on April 26 at the 2016 Alaska Rural Energy Conference in Fairbanks, I had the pleasure of announcing the 13 communities selected to receive technical assistance as part of the Remote Alaska Communities Energy Efficiency (RACEE) Competition. This $4 million joint effort between our Office and the Office of Energy Efficiency and Renewable Energy is focused on significantly accelerating efforts by remote Alaskan communities to adopt sustainable energy strategies. The communities selected to receive technical assistance are part of a larger group of 64 RACEE Community Efficiency Champions pledging to reduce per-capita energy use 15% by 2020. This summer, these 13 Champions will enter the final phase of the RACEE Competition and be eligible to compete for a total of up to $3.4 million in funding from DOE to implement their energy efficiency plans. In October 2016, DOE expects to award funding to help up to five communities implement their plans to reach their energy pledge reductions.
With these investments in tribal energy development, we are continuing our legacy of positioning Indian tribes and Alaska Natives to thrive. Those we’ve stood with over the years are now emerging as intrepid leaders as they complete the final phases of project development. Just this past month, I was honored to attend two groundbreaking events for tribal energy projects. The Menominee Tribe of Wisconsin's Biomass project and the Seneca Nation of Indians’ 1.5-megawatt wind project provide just two recent examples of leading-edge tribal energy visions coming to fruition. We celebrate these success stories with great optimism about the future because they are paving the way for others. Success drives success.
As outlined in our Strategic Roadmap 2025, our program design focuses on tribal energy deployment, innovation, and policy as stepping stones on the upward trajectory tribes are on. Energy is a vital pathway to economic sovereignty for tribal communities, and I believe we are at a turning point. We have an opportunity to build on past investments and compound the returns. Everyone has a role in making that happen: the Office of Indian Energy; Indian tribes and intertribal organizations; federal, state, and tribal partnerships; and industry. I look forward to continuing our work together to identify and implement viable, innovative energy and infrastructure solutions designed to strengthen tribal communities and sustain future generations.
- Since 2002, DOE has invested over $50 million in nearly 200 tribal clean energy projects. Of those, more than 30 projects valued at more than $30 million were in Alaska.
- Since 2013, the Office of Indian Energy has fulfilled 72 technical assistance requests in the contiguous United States—providing unbiased expertise to assist Indian tribes with efforts to reduce energy costs, develop strategic energy plans, explore renewable energy options, and implement clean energy projects.
- Since 2013, the Office of Indian Energy has fulfilled 58 technical assistance requests in Alaska—providing unbiased expertise to assist 45 Alaska Native villages and 2 regional corporations with efforts to reduce energy costs, develop strategic energy plans, train locals on energy efficiency and renewable energy, and implement clean energy projects.
Christopher Clark Deschene
Christopher Clark Deschene (Navajo Nation) is a former director of the U.S. Department of Energy (DOE) Office of Indian Energy. Mr. Deschene has more than 20 years of management and policy experience, along with extensive tribal relationships and deep expertise in business and energy development, natural resources, and environmental policies, federal Indian law, and government affairs.
He played a crucial role providing advice and support to the Secretary, Deputy Secretary, Under Secretary for Science and Energy and program offices across the DOE complex to help fulfill the Department's mission of advancing the national, economic, and energy security of the United States through scientific and technological innovation.
Mr. Deschene is well regarded with tribal, state, and federal policy leaders and professionals, as well as industry and business leaders. Prior to this appointment, he spent 10 years as a partner with the Law Offices of Schaff & Clark Deschene, LLC. His experience extends to business and energy development on tribal, state, and federal lands. He has extensive knowledge of power generation, transmission, distribution, renewable energy development, oil and gas development, utility formation, water, natural resource, energy and environmental policy development, tribal and federal administrative and regulatory permitting, energy contracting and negotiations. His practice has taken him across the United States and throughout Indian Country.
Previously, Mr. Deschene served with the U.S. Marine Corps as an infantry and reconnaissance officer and completed his service as a Major in the U.S. Marine Corps Reserve. He has served with distinction and completed two tours in the Persian Gulf, first with the infantry and second, with reconnaissance units. While on active duty, Mr. Deschene also served as a military research engineer with Lawrence Livermore National Laboratory.
Chris received a Bachelor of Science in Mechanical Engineering from the United States Naval Academy in Annapolis, Maryland and a Master of Science and Engineering in Mechanical Engineering from Arizona State University in Tempe, Arizona. Concurrent with his master’s studies, Mr. Deschene earned a Juris Doctorate with a focus on federal Indian law and energy and natural resources law from Arizona State University. Mr. Deschene is licensed to practice law in Arizona and the Navajo Nation.