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A photo of a poster promoting Tribal wind power. The poster features Native Amercian children and a large white wind turbine against a blue background, along with the words "indigenous, environmental, economic, now and forever."

The Tribal Energy Program, under the U.S. Department of Energy's (DOE's) Office of Energy Efficiency and Renewable Energy, promotes tribal energy sufficiency, and fosters economic development and employment on tribal lands through the use of renewable energy and energy efficiency technologies.

Learn more about how program activities are implemented and how the program is organized. For help with specific inquiries about the program, please contact our staff.

Mission

The Tribal Energy Program's mission is to provide financial and technical assistance to tribes through government-to-government partnerships that:

  1. Empower tribal leaders to make informed decisions about energy choices
  2. Bring renewable energy and energy efficiency options to Indian Country
  3. Enhance human capacity through education and training
  4. Improve local tribal economies and the environment
  5. Make a difference in the quality of life of Native Americans.

Approach

The program employs a three-pronged approach to fulfilling its mission, providing tribes with:

  1. Financial assistance through a competitive process to develop tribal renewable energy resources and reduce energy consumption through efficiency and weatherization
  2. Technical assistance through DOE's prestigious laboratories
  3. Education and training through online short courses, student internships, and workshops to help build the knowledge and skills is essential to developing, implementing and sustaining energy efficiency and renewable energy projects.

Funding History

The following graph shows Congressional funding by year for the DOE Tribal Energy Program.

This bar chart shows the Tribal Energy Program fiscal year funding from 2002 through 2010. Funding in 2002 was $3 million, funding in 2003 was $5 million, funding in 2004 was $2.5 million, funding in 2005 was slightly more than $3 million, funding in 2006 was $3 million, funding in 2007 was $4 million, funding in 2008 and 2009 was $6 million, and funding in 2010 was $10 million.