With a very large energy usage footprint the White Earth Nation tribal government is becoming more involved in implementing energy conservation measures and adopting renewable energy technologies. The tribal nation encompasses all of Mahnomen County and two northern tiers of townships in northern Becker and several townships western Clearwater counties, totaling more than 937,400 acres.
We remodeled the former RTC building to consolidate all tribal health division offices at one site. The building was renovated with HUD Indian Community Development Block Grant (ICDBG) funds and assistance through the DOE Energy Efficiency and Conservation Block Grant Program (EECBG). Addressing a number of the issues identified in an earlier energy audit, new windows and doors were installed to the older part of the building constructed in the early 1970s, greatly improving the energy efficiency of the facility.
With the help of the Minnesota Retiree Environmental Technical Assistance Program (RETAP) from the MPCA, energy audits were recently completed for the Naytahwaush Humanity Center and the Shooting Star Casino. At the Naytahwaush Humanity Center a new chiller, a new system control computer, and new boiler are part of several planned improvements with the assistance of the USDA Community Facilities Program financing. With the Shooting Star Casino celebrating its 20th anniversary in May 2012 a more efficient boiler system is contemplated as part of energy conscious components of planned facility renovations.
A 750 kW wind turbine near White Earth village is expected to come on line in 2012 as part of a federally-funded research project documenting more efficient blades and gearboxes to retrofit the nation’s large stock of operating 750 kW class turbines that are ready for potential retrofitting. This wind turbine, while not directly wired to specific tribal facilities, will provide power to the local grid that will offset a portion of the power needs of several major buildings including the IHS clinic, the Circle of Life Academy, and the new RTC building.
Both the new RTC Building and the Circle of Life Academy are new facilities. The Circle of Life Academy, set to open in 2012, also has geothermal heat, and will attain Silver LEED certification. This was accomplished with funding provided by the Bureau of Indian Education, U.S. Department of Interior. The RTC building opened in late 2008 and is heated by an electric boiler backed up by an on-demand generator under a favorable near off-peak utility rate.
The White Earth Reservation does not have natural gas access, so heat sources are principally propane, fuel oil, and electricity—augmented by wood stoves—among the residential population. The tribal government has over 100 buildings. Participation in a tribal nation version of the GreenStep Cities program is a possibility to benchmark individual facility energy usage. Future activities include developing a closer working relationship with Minnesota-based solar manufacturers and installers, and continuing to work on energy efficiency of existing tribal buildings. The White Earth Housing Authority has completed 20 of 30 new energy efficient homes wired for solar electric panels as part of the recent federal Recovery Act stimulus program.
The U.S. Dept of Energy recently funded a feasibility study to assess the feasibility of deploying a biogas/biomass-fired combined heat and power facility to generate 2.7 MW of electricity for tribal buildings and for space and domestic water heating. This award is a significant milestone in developing and implementing renewable energy technology that will also help grow the green economy on the tribal reservation.
Michael Triplett is the energy planner for the White Earth Nation. He can be reached at [email protected].
