The feds pulled $1.5B from tribal clean energy. Tribes are finding another way.
Across tribal nations, hosting a meeting with dinner and a tour of an ambitious new project is a familiar scene. But for David Harper, a member of the Colorado River Indian Tribes and CEO of the new tribal energy finance organization Huurav, a recent gathering seemed different. Last week at the Bluewater Resort and Casino on the Colorado River Indian Tribes Reservation in western Arizona, Huurav met with tribal leaders, investors and farmers to launch the tribe’s first agrivoltaics project: a practice that grows crops under solar panels.
The project marks a significant step forward for the tribe and the broader tribal clean energy landscape, following a devastating blow to federal support. In October of last year, the passage of President Donald Trump’s tax bill, colloquially known as the “One Big Beautiful Bill Act,” removed approximately $1.5 billion in federal funding intended for tribal renewable energy and climate resilience projects.
“Were we surprised by the recovery? No, they already did it,” said Harper of Huurav. “Have they reneged on their promises regarding our treaties? Yes, of course. Does this immobilize us and prevent us from surviving? No, it helps us, it allows us to create a better path for ourselves.”
With nearly 1,600 projects led by tribal governments and Native entities losing some or all of their federal funding, tribes have been forced to get creative. To keep clean energy projects alive, tribes are turning to philanthropy, low-interest loans and nonprofits to fill the huge financial gap.
The Biden-era Inflation Reduction Act of 2022 represented a historic investment in tribes and renewable energy, but experts and tribal leaders believed it was still insufficient to address historic inequities in Indian Country. “Given the role that the federal government itself has played in generating these investment needs through things like land theft, disinvestment, [and] cultural destruction in Indian Country, a one-time infusion of money is not enough,” said Robert Maxim, a Mashpee Wampanoag tribal member and Brookings fellow who recently co-authored a report on the impact of the One Big Beautiful Bill Act. Maxim emphasized that federal funding for Indian Country is a fundamental part of trust and treaty obligations.
“Things such as a clean environment, adequate energy to power homes, basic investments in electricity, and the ability to do all of this without higher levels of pollution and environmental degradation than the U.S. population as a whole are all essential to this trust and treaty relationship,” Maxim said.
To fill this void, nonprofit organizations like the Alliance for Tribal Clean Energy are stepping in. Through its Indigenous Energy and Light Fund, supported by philanthropic partners like the MacArthur Foundation, the Alliance provides a critical lifeline. Huurav also plays a leadership role, drawing on his expertise gained through participation in the inaugural cohort of the Agrivoltaics Growth through Resilience and Innovation program, managed by the National Laboratory of the Rockies and the Farmland Trust, a conservation-focused agricultural nonprofit.
Although commercial lenders are difficult to find in tribal nations, Community Financial Development Institutions, known as CFDIs, are meant to bridge this gap by providing financing to Native-led organizations and tribes seeking to invest in renewable energy on tribal lands.
A recent survey found that more than half of Indigenous-run CFDIs, financial institutions that provide credit to underserved populations, cite lack of financing as one of their biggest challenges, and that financial barriers worsen existing energy inequities. A 2023 Department of Energy report found that tribal households face an energy burden 28% higher than the national average. In the Southwest, for example, the Hopi Tribe and Navajo Nation have the highest rates of unelectrified homes and often rely on coal or propane for heating. Many tribes lack reliable transmission lines, leaving them vulnerable to extreme weather events, like floods and wildfires, fueled by climate change.
Despite these obstacles, indigenous communities are moving forward by courting sustainable investors to achieve energy independence and reduce utility costs. On the Hawaiian island of Molokai, for example, Native Hawaiians are harnessing cost-effective renewable energy projects to reduce their exorbitant utility bills while advancing their return-to-land initiatives. “They’re making the case that they can attract investors to invest in their land projects,” said Kyle Whyte, a citizen of the Potawatomi Nation and professor of environmental justice at the University of Michigan. “One of the ways they can successfully govern these lands is to implement cost-effective renewable energy projects that would reduce utility costs for the people.”
However, some tribes have turned away from solar and wind energy altogether, choosing instead to pursue active federal grants aligned with the Trump administration’s agenda to expand domestic energy. That includes tapping into nearly $172 million in geothermal funding from the Department of Energy or pursuing transportation improvements backed by a $1.6 billion federal loan guarantee.
Ultimately, promoting clean energy is about self-determination and resilience. As David Harper of Huurav says: “We don’t trust the federal government, but we have to work with them to understand that we must continue our process of survival and self-sufficiency. »
