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Published on: 12/28/2007
Last Visited: 12/28/2007
Chris Cassidy, acting energy branch chief for the U.S. Department of Agriculture, talked about tribal energy resources potential and technologies.
"Sovereignty is our bottom line in our renewable energy program at Rural Development, and the basic stepping stones we go through are conservation, then energy efficiency, then renewable energy systems and, finally, to sustainability," he said.
The department has grants and loans for planning or technical assistance with design, development and implementation, which are available to tribal members, enterprises and governments in all forms of business structures.
And with governments and businesses looking to cut their dependency on fossil fuels, the timing is right for tribal energy development.
"Approximately 60 percent of the energy sources available in North America are on Native lands.So we're looking at distributed energy and we're looking at renewable energy development across the country," Cassidy commented.
He lauded the nations that are already exploring their opportunities to develop wind, geothermal, solar and biofuels, and for looking at the second and third generation technologies that are on the horizon, such as grass and oil crops, low-end hydro power, wave and tidal energies, and the conversion of algae into energy.
"I think the opportunities not only for development of these renewable energy sources on Native American lands, but also distribution of that energy is going to lead to job creation and job retention and support of social service networks," he said."And, sovereignty being the bottom line, you control your own resources and you're in a much better position than leaving it out there for somebody else to make these decisions for you."
Renewable sources are neither new nor unfamiliar to tribal communities; they are the elemental earth, fire, water and wind, handed from the forefathers, according to Cassidy.
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