Alternative Energy Tribes Consider

Case Studies Encouraging Alaska Native & Native American Tribes to Consider Alternative Energy Park

BY
Terrance H Booth, Sr., Tsimshian Tribe

If one looks at the population growth of America in different states, for example from 1990 to 2000 the State of Arizona nearly double in size. Tribes of Arizona near large urban cities like Tucson and Phoenix some of the towns like Chandler, Ahwatukee, Laveen, Maricopa, Chandler, Tempe, Scottsdale, Phoenix are buffering up to the reservations near within Maricopa and Pinal Counties. All this population growth has demands upon water, sewer, utilities, garbage, and more energy is most needed. More importantly, by the year 2016 all of America will need 70% more electricity. Tribes already have completed studies on alternative energy to see what will work for them within their reservation settings. Some tribes are making landmark efforts with one example of a California Tribe completely off grid not even connected to utility lines for energy they have established their own alternative energy efforts and what is key economically is they are no longer paying the near by off reservation utility company anymore revenues. This is how we build an economy keeping dollars within our reservations settings. If we do studies on the economies of our reservations we will see that for goods and services large portion of tribal dollars are spent off reservation rather then spent on reservation settings. Thus, we have poor economies on our reservations.
“States like that of Texas has put out a study “Growing the New Energy Economy in Texas.” Summary of their Case Study: “Because of explosive growth in the renewable energy and green building sector, continued volatility in energy prices, and overwhelming business and natural resources assets, the State of Texas has a strong business case for developing the renewable energy industry to become a job-creation engine of the state’s economy. Texas has created markets for renewable energy companies with aggressive public policy goals for renewable energy generation, supported these markets with transparent and predictable regulations for installation and grid connection, and in less than ten years has moved from a state with virtually no developed renewable energy to a world leader in wind power production. With its highly developed traditional energy industry and related high-tech clusters, significant renewable natural resources, and in its role as one of the largest drivers of economic growth in the U.S., the State of Texas has a natural competitive edge in the renewable energy industry. Yet growth in this industry has under performed Texas’s assets. With the emerging nature of the renewable energy industry, there have been only the beginnings of a coordinated effort to support industrial development through economic development incentives, local market creation, and workforce development efforts. “ (http://ohurl.com/d8A)
Why This Study is Important
Because of these gaps between Texas’s resources and its efforts in economic development, workforce development and policy, Texas has room to significantly improve upon its already healthy renewable energy industry. Economic development and workforce development policies work best with good information; this study tries to fill the gaps in information that would allow these groups to succeed in further building the support structures for renewable energy companies across the state. Ultimately, this study must drive collaboration between economic developers, policymakers, workforce developers, and universities and community colleges to address the challenges faced in building the renewable energy workforce of the state of Texas. This study is important because:
􀂃 This study has national implications because the renewable energy industry is an emerging industry across the country
􀂃 No study has as comprehensively captured the workforce requirements and assets of a single state in such depth and breadth across the entire renewable energy economy
􀂃 For Texas, it is critical to incorporate the following an understanding of the renewable energy industry, site selection factors, where companies are located today and where they fall within the value chain, specific occupational requirements for companies, existing assets, and where gaps in the workforce development system exist. (http://ohurl.com/d8A)

Economic Impact of a New Hampshire Renewable Portfolio Standard

1 Executive Summary
Main Findings:
• A NH Renewable Portfolio Standard (RPS) can:
o help diversify NH’s and the region's power generating capacity and reduce dependency on imported sources
o increase the potential for new renewable energy development within the state and also help to support the continued operations of existing renewable energy resources
• There are costs associated with a RPS, however, the net economic and environmental benefits are expected to be positive for New Hampshire
• The modeled increase in retail costs to New Hampshire ratepayers would be less than 2% per year, or less than $1.25 per month for households
• The modeled economic development benefits would include 1100 full-time jobs and $1 million in new state revenue annually in 2025
• NH RPS demand combined with regional RPS demand is modeled to lead to new development in NH of 960 MW wind, 56 MW biomass, 15 MW landfill gas, & 33 MW solar by 2025
• Natural gas consumption would decrease as a result of a NH RPS reducing total
NH electric costs by $300,000 in 2010 and $5.6 million in 2025
• With the regional energy market, a NH RPS does not guarantee in-state development of renewable energy facilities. Consideration should be given to complementing RPS with efforts to support renewable energy and related economic development. This could include long-term contracting for renewable energy and dedicated funding for renewable energy development
(http://ohurl.com/d8B)

Cape Wind will create hundreds of new jobs and significant tax revenue for Massachusetts and Cape Cod, according to a new study by Global Insight
Thursday, April 03, 2003
Yarmouth Port, MA – The manufacturing, construction and operation of America’s first offshore wind farm by Cape Wind Associates will generate an estimated 600 to 1,000 jobs in the region, according to an economic impact study released today.
The 14-page study, prepared by Global Insight, of Lexington MA, concludes that Cape Wind will have a number of positive economic and fiscal impacts on the region and Barnstable County. Some of these benefits include the creation of hundreds of direct, indirect and induced full-time jobs during the construction phase. There will also be an increase in the range of revenue and taxes paid to state and local towns of between $9 million and $14 million a year during this period.
“This study shows that Cape Wind will provide welcome benefits above and beyond the obvious goal of bringing clean, efficient, renewable energy to the Cape and region,’’ said Jim Gordon, the president of Cape Wind. “At a time when the region is experiencing significant job loss, Cape Wind represents substantial job creation and a boost to the economy.”
Among the study’s other findings:
Manufacturing/Assembly/Construction/Installation Phase:
• Employment in Barnstable County will increase by 75-construction jobs
• Total State economic output will increase by between $85 million and $137 million annually.

• Labor income will increase by between $32 million and $52 million annually
• Personal income tax revenues will increase by between $4.8 million and $7.8 million
• Corporate income tax revenues will increase by between $1.3 million and $2.1 million
Operation Phase
• Total State economic output will increase by $22 million annually.
• Labor income will increase by $6.9 million annually.
• 154 permanent jobs including 50 maintenance and operations jobs with an average salary of over $50K per year.
• Personal income tax revenues will increase by $346,500 annually.
• Corporate income tax revenues will increase by $113,900 annually.
Download the complete study here (pdf).
Global Insight Inc., of Lexington, MA, is a privately held company formed to bring together the two of the most respected economic and financial information companies in the world, Data Resources Inc. and Wharton Econometric Forecasting Associates. Global Insight provides the most comprehensive economic coverage of countries, regions and industries available from any source using a unique combination of expertise, models, data and software within a common analytical framework to support planning and decision-making. www.globalinsight.com
Cape Wind’s proposal to build America’s first offshore wind farm on Horseshoe Shoal would provide, on average, three-quarters of the electricity used on Cape Cod and the Islands from clean, renewable energy. The project would create new jobs, lower electric costs, contribute to a healthier environment, increase energy independence and establish Massachusetts as a leader in offshore wind power. For more information visit www.capewind.org.
WIXOM, Mich., Sept. 10, 2009 – Ford Motor Company today joined Xtreme Power of Austin, Texas, and Clairvoyant Energy of Santa Barbara, Calif., to announce that the idled Wixom Assembly Plant will be transformed into one of the nation's largest renewable energy manufacturing parks.
Clairvoyant Energy and Xtreme Power plan an initial investment of more than $725 million to redevelop the 320-acre plant site and its 4.7 million square feet of building space to manufacture solar power and energy storage systems, respectively. The two companies will utilize approximately half of the square footage to manufacture their products, and will seek additional green-energy manufacturing and support companies to lease the remaining space. The redevelopment work at the Wixom site is expected to begin early next year with manufacturing at the site slated to begin in late 2011.
The redevelopment plan is expected to create more than 4,000 direct jobs, including local suppliers, as well as support thousands of indirect jobs. (http://ohurl.com/d8D)
RIEDC will also leverage the Deepwater Wind project to create more "green sector" jobs in the state. The Deepwater Wind energy project off the coast of Rhode Island is slated to provide 1.3 million megawatt hours per year of renewable energy — 15 percent of the state’s electricity demand – and create more than 800 new jobs at Quonset Business Park. By establishing itself as an early leader in large-scale offshore wind energy production, Rhode Island will gain an important competitive advantage in attracting alternative energy companies to the state and in creating new, high-wage, green energy jobs. (http://www.riedc.com/about/mission-and-strategy/action-item-8)
According to http://www.CleanEnergyAction.net, Americans believe thusly:
- 90% feel that our federal government is not doing enough about energy,
- 82% say that the U.S. should be a leader, not a follower, on global climate mitigation, and- 75% believe that there should be a 5-year moratorium on new coal-fired power plants ( http://ohurl.com/d8E)

Today, the world consumes over 85 million barrels of oil every day (over 30 billion barrels per year). The USA alone consumes over 20 million barrels per day (over 7 billion barrels per year). At $70 per barrel, global petroleum revenue exceeds two trillion dollars per year. Development of alternative fuels on a scale large enough to free the global economy from dependence on oil as the world's primary source of energy will create a seismic shift within the economic foundation of the world.
“Energy is the single most important problem facing humanity today — not just the U.S., but also worldwide.”
— Nobel Laureate Dr. Richard Smalley - Our Energy Challenge (http://www.americanenergyindependence.com/)

The United States consumes 20 million barrels of oil products every day.
— 14 million barrels per day consumed for transportation fuel.
— 9 million barrels of the transportation fuel is gasoline.

The United States imports 6 million barrels of crude oil per day from OPEC nations.

Replacing gasoline with American made alcohol fuels would completely eliminate dependence on OPEC oil—and set an example for the world to follow (http://www.americanenergyindependence.com/)

Today the electric power industry is a robust industry that contributes to the progress of our nation. America’s electric companies pay billions of dollars in tax revenue, employ nearly 400,000 workers, provide a variety of public service programs to benefit the local communities they serve, and produce one of our most valuable commodities—electricity. (http://www.getenergyactive.org/value/index.htm)
About 86% of all types of energy used in the United States is derived from fossil fuels. In 2007, the largest source of the country's energy came from petroleum (40%), followed by natural gas (24%) and coal (23%). The remaining 15% was supplied by nuclear power, hydroelectric dams, and miscellaneous renewable sources. Department of Energy http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Energy_policy_of_the_United_States
Our world of energy is changing, and moving in a direction that further complicates the tasks that lie ahead. If we do not respond appropriately to these challenges, we risk being confronted by a future that is increasingly uncertain and defined by factors beyond our control or influence.
During the next twenty years, most forecasts predict that the world will be relying on the same forms of energy that fueled developments of the past century—oil, natural gas, coal, and nuclear power, plus a broad grouping of renewables.

But, against this constancy, just what key changes lie ahead?
· Dramatic change is projected in the geography of demand for energy, as the Asia-Pacific region alone is to account for 40 percent of the total world demand increase out to the year 2025.
· Fully one-half the world consumption of oil is dedicated to transportation uses. Unless and until acceptable fuel substitutes become available to the transportation sector, the prospect for any meaningful reduction in energy demand is limited. It is the absence of prospect for change that is the key.
· The United States and Europe, and indeed the industrialized world, in the coming years will find themselves increasingly dependent on imported oil and natural gas. But where will these imports come from? The developing world, where a rising dependency cannot be seen as acceptable in terms of national interests.
· The emergence of new diplomatic regional and international commercial alliances may mark the beginnings of a “new game” in the geopolitics of oil. This new game could devolve into competition for supplies, a competition that favors national oil companies, to the detriment of others.
In sum, I have described a future that would seem to lie beyond our control, a future that rests in the hands of others. What will it take to wrest that control away?
It will take nothing more than the political will of consumers and their government to accept actions and programs that have meaning on both the supply and demand sides of the equation.
But we seem to have lost that political will. Where is this political will, where has it gone, and how might we get it back? (http://ohurl.com/d8H)
DOE Asks Tribes To Help Develop Alternative Energy Sources
Posted on January 19, 2009 by Greg Guedel
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The Department of Energy (DOE) has issued a Request For Information seeking feedback from Tribes and other parties interested in the deployment of renewable energy in Indian Country in the contiguous 48 States. The information will be used by DOE for internal planning and decision making under the federal Tribal Energy Program. Although Tribal Trust land comprises 5% of the land area in the United States (55.7 million acres) and contains an estimated 10% of all energy resources in the United States, (both conventional and renewable), less than a few hundred megawatts of renewable energy has been developed in Indian Country. Moreover, most of those are land lease deals as opposed to Tribes having ownership positions in the projects. (http://ohurl.com/d8I)
What tribes are doing with alternative energy? Through the Department Energy funding is available for feasibility studies to see what alternative energy can be used for their particular reservation settings. Several tribes have completed these feasibility studies and some have implemented their alternative energy projects like wind and solar applications.
Welcome to the Department of Energy's (DOE's) Tribal Energy Program Web site. The Tribal Energy Program promotes tribal energy sufficiency, economic growth and employment on tribal lands through the development of renewable energy and energy efficiency technologies. The program, part of DOE's Office of Energy Efficiency and Renewable Energy, provides financial and technical assistance to tribes for the evaluation and development of renewable energy resources, and provides education and training to help build the knowledge and skills essential for sustainable energy projects.
(http://apps1.eere.energy.gov/tribalenergy/)

As you read this case study and available resources tribal officials such give serious consideration to establish alternative energy parks to meet America’s need for electricity. By the year 2016 all of America will need 70% more electricity and tribes can take advantage of this and become the main supplies of alternative energy for America. According to Dr. Roy McAlister, founder of American Hydrogen Association, economist, scientist and inventor, he writes: “Nearly every Nation has adequate solar, wind, wave, falling water, and/or biomass waste resources to achieve sustainable energy independence. Even the world’s largest energy importer (the U. S. A.) has adequate renewable resources to replace fossil energy sources.” (The Solar Hydrogen Civilization, by Roy McAlister. (http://www.clean-air.org/)

Observing the Department of Energy’s Tribal programs for alternative energy the tribal infrastructure for progress is in place”
v Available research and current and up to date Publications on Native American Alternative Energy Policy
v Education and Training available for tribes to implement Tribal Energy Parks
v DOE has step by step guide to establish Tribal Alternative Energy Parks
v DOE has listing of Organizations assisting tribes with technical assistance or implementation
v Related Links:
1. http://ohurl.com/d8J
2. http://ohurl.com/d8K
3. http://ohurl.com/d8L
4. http://ohurl.com/d8M
5. http://ohurl.com/d8N
6. http://www.clean-air.org/
7. http://www.etaengineering.com/
All available for the tribes of America to take advantage and start on the road to substantial tribal wealth development.

References:
1. Growing the New Energy Economy in Texas: Renewable Energy Industry and Workforce Development Assessment, Angelou Economics, Global Economic Development, January 2009
2. Economic Impact of a New Hampshire Renewable Portfolio Standard, University of New Hampshire, Ross Gittell, Ph.D., Matt Magnusson, MBA February 2007
3. Cape Wind – Energy for Life – America’s First Offshore Wind Farm
4. Wixom Renewable Energy Park
5. Rhode Island Economic Development
6. Huffington Post, January 16, 2010, by Patrick Takahashi
7. Energy Independence
8. Native American Legal Update DOE Asks Tribes To Help Develop Alternative Energy Sources
9. U. S. Department of Energy – Tribal Energy Programs
10. American Energy Independence
11. Get Energy Active