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    Tribal Energy Entities Partake in DOE Innovator Fellowship

    Aug. 29, 2024
    Among the tribal entities which will host this year’s Clean Energy Innovator fellows includes the Alaska Native Tribal Health Consortium, Knik Tribe, Tule Indian Tribe of the Tule River Reservation, Coeur d’Alene, Nez Perce, Cherokee Nation, Columbia Inter-Tribe Fish Commission, RESco—Rosebud Sioux Tribal Utility and the Confederated Tribes of the Colville Reservation.
    Blue Lake Rancheria microgrid project. Image credit Schatz Energy Research Center
    Blue Lake Rancheria microgrid project. Image credit Schatz Energy Research Center

    The U.S. Department of Energy has selected 68 entities as part of its 2024 Class in the Clean Energy Innovator Fellowship program.

    The fellows will spend up to two years at critical energy organizations including nearly a dozen tribal projects, as well as electric cooperatives, municipal utilities and state regulatory commissions. The aim is to be on the front lines understanding where federal investment in clean energy can positively impact communities.

    Participants receive hands-on training in advancing solutions which decarbonize the power system, electrify transportation and industry. The program also includes a stipend and allowance for education and professional development.

    Tribal Communities Seek Microgrids for Energy Resilience

    DOE’s Office of Indian Energy also facilitated collaboration with many of the nation’s tribes.

    Among the tribal entities which will host this year’s Clean Energy Innovator fellows includes the Alaska Native Tribal Health Consortium, Knik Tribe, Tule Indian Tribe of the Tule River Reservation, Coeur d’Alene, Nez Perce, Cherokee Nation, Columbia Inter-Tribe Fish Commission, RESco—Rosebud Sioux Tribal Utility and the Confederated Tribes of the Colville Reservation.

    Earlier this month, the DOE Office of Indian Energy Policy and Programs issued two notices of intent to release a combined $30 million in funding opportunities for tribal clean energy planning development, as well as transitioning tribal colleges and universities to clean energy projects.

    About the Author

    Rod Walton, EnergyTech Managing Editor | Senior Editor

    For EnergyTech editorial inquiries, please contact Managing Editor Rod Walton at [email protected].

    Rod Walton has spent 15 years covering the energy industry as a newspaper and trade journalist. He formerly was energy writer and business editor at the Tulsa World. Later, he spent six years covering the electricity power sector for Pennwell and Clarion Events. He joined Endeavor and EnergyTech in November 2021.

    Walton earned his Bachelors degree in journalism from the University of Oklahoma. His career stops include the Moore American, Bartlesville Examiner-Enterprise, Wagoner Tribune and Tulsa World. 

    EnergyTech is focused on the mission critical and large-scale energy users and their sustainability and resiliency goals. These include the commercial and industrial sectors, as well as the military, universities, data centers and microgrids. The C&I sectors together account for close to 30 percent of greenhouse gas emissions in the U.S.

    He was named Managing Editor for Microgrid Knowledge and EnergyTech starting July 1, 2023

    Many large-scale energy users such as Fortune 500 companies, and mission-critical users such as military bases, universities, healthcare facilities, public safety and data centers, shifting their energy priorities to reach net-zero carbon goals within the coming decades. These include plans for renewable energy power purchase agreements, but also on-site resiliency projects such as microgrids, combined heat and power, rooftop solar, energy storage, digitalization and building efficiency upgrades.

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