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Tribal Energy Alternatives recently awarded $3.2 million in grant funding to 14 Tribal Nations, plus Tribal-serving organizations and community-serving entities. The grants will support solar energy access, workforce development, and long-term energy resilience. Tribal Energy Alternatives is a Tribal-led affiliate of GRID Alternatives.
Solar power is a clean, renewable source of electricity, and new solar power installations are one of the most affordable forms of new energy development.
John Teller, Communications & Outreach Director at Tribal Energy Alternatives, answered some questions for CleanTechnica to tell us more about this.
About how much solar power, in kW, will be installed and when will it be installed?
There is 1496 kW projected to be installed based on project summaries submitted.
Will it be installed by Tribal people?
Yes, again this was not a single award, it was multiple tribal entities. Although a tribal awardee can opt to have any contractor of its choosing to do the actual installations more often than not these installs are performed by tribal contractors, installers, tribal trainees and we often partner with tribal grantees to work directly with our Workforce Development programs as well as our Tribal Construction team works directly with tribes to perform installations.
About how many Tribal people will participate in the workforce development?
Just this past 1st quarter of 2026 we trained 26 tribal individuals through our TEA trainee programs. Each awarded project has the potential to train 4 to 8 trainees depending on the scope and scale of the project, these are averages we typically see.
Any idea how much the solar power installations might reduce utility bills?
As each project is different it can vary but we have seen an average of $3,300 in annual savings.
Is there an overarching goal to achieve energy independence and be self-sufficient?
Tribal Energy Alternatives Inc. empowers Tribal-led solutions in the clean energy transition. By combining deep cultural competency with technical expertise, we provide accessible funding, training, project development, and policy advocacy to support tribal energy sovereignty and build community power across Indian Country. Our mission is to support Tribal Nations build community- powered solutions to advance economic and environmental justice through sustainable energy.
Our vision is a balanced transition to energy sovereignty for Tribal Nations grounded in Traditional values for future generations.
About how many Tribal people have you supported to work in clean energy careers?
To date we have helped train and worked with over 500 tribal members through our Workforce, Construction, and Education Leadership programs which includes: Installation Basics Training (IBT), Fellowships, Scholarships, Internships, and Tribal Energy Associates summer programs.
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