Exploring the Possibilities
Renewable Energy Sources on Tribal Land
By Mary K. Bowannie

Sandra Begay-Campbell/Sandia National Laboratories

L to R: Deborah Tewa, Thom Sacco (DOE Tribal Energy Program Manager), Cherylin Wilson, Nick Johnson, and Terry Battiest.

We get up in the morning and turn on the coffee pot, perhaps the television, then we plug in our cell phones and laptops to charge so we can start the day. Most of us turn on all these appliances without thinking twice about the energy we are using or where it comes from. What if we didn't have electricity at all? Or even a possible source to tap into? What would we do?
These are just some questions which student interns with the Tribal Energy Program (TEP) may tackle over the course of one summer, but on a much more specific and technical level. The TEP, based at Sandia National Laboratories in Albuquerque, New Mexico, is under the U.S. Department of Energy (DOE) and its Office of Energy Efficiency and Renewable Energy. The TEP provides American Indian tribes initial assistance in the development of renewable energy projects.

Connie Brooks /Sandia National Laboratories

L to R: Benjamin Mar, Jennifer Coots, Colin Ben, Deborah Tewa and Sandra Begay-Campbell

A Balancing Act
The TEP internship program began seven years ago and was supported the first year by Sandia Labs. Since then, the DOE's Office of Science, the TEP and Sandia Labs have collaborated and supported the program. TEP is under the mentorship and guidance of Sandra Begay-Campbell, Navajo, an engineer with Sandia Labs and the principal member of the TEP technical staff.
The 12-week internship program is critical in order to serve the needs of the tribes, given the TEP's small budget explains Begay-Campbell. "It's a balancing act, there's a lot of work to do and the students want to learn. Seventeen Native American graduate and undergraduate students have participated in the program since 2001. Seven of the interns have been graduate students who have all gone on to complete their master's degrees."
Over the course of 12 weeks, the student interns receive an intensive and hands-on experience in the assessment and implementation of renewable energy solutions for tribal communities. "I think one of the greatest things we do is throw them into the deep end of the pool… we're working with real people, real projects," notes Begay- Campbell. Since 2003, numerous tribal communities have benefited from the interns' hard work. The Ramona Band of Cahuilla, Hualapai Nation, Navajo Nation, Hopi Nation, and Laguna Pueblo all have implemented various forms of renewable energy projects.

Photos: Connie Brooks /Sandia National Laboratories

L to R: Thom Sacco (DOE Tribal Energy Program Manager), Terry Battiest, Jonathan Biron, Sandra Begay-Campbell, Lani Tsinnajinnie, and Deborah Tewa

Implementing a Hybrid System
Tanya Martinez is Mi'kmaq from the Eel River Bar First Nation reserve in New Brunswick, Canada. She received her bachelor of science in electrical engineering from North Eastern University in 2001, and her master's of science in energy engineering from the University of Massachusetts in 2008. Martinez was an intern with the TEP during the summer of 2005 and found that the internship provided invaluable knowledge into the complexities of tribal renewable energy projects.
Martinez worked on the Navajo Tribal Utility Authority (NTUA) project and her job was to figure out recommendations for the next generation of the energy system currently in place. The tribe had implemented a hybrid system made up of solar energy and wind energy. On cloudy days when the sun's energy could not be captured, it was often windy. Martinez had to figure out how to best service the hybrid system, especially in a remote area, where travel time to fix a down system could take hours or even days. Martinez focused on how to provide preventative maintenance which can save time, travel and precious resources. "Overall, the experience was new to me as I was just getting started with my [graduate] program. I was seeing how the system worked and how people lived with the system in their homes," she relates.

TEP Budget The TEP program receives its funding authority from the Energy Policy Act of 2005, according to Lizana Pierce, project manager with the U.S. Department of Energy in in the Golden, Colorado, field office. Over the last seven years, the TEP budget has averaged $4.9 million. Within that amount, $50,000 has gone toward the internship program to cover intern salaries and travel costs. According to Pierce, that amount has risen to $100,000 in 2008.

A very basic explanation of the process is energy is captured in various ways, from the sun or wind for example. Then it is stored in a battery which provides individual households with energy, but the energy stored is not unlimited, reports Martinez. "[This experience] taught me more about conservation and to be more aware because we only have as much energy as the battery can store." Martinez continues her work today as an energy engineer with Red Mountain Tribal Energy, a Native and women-owned company based in Phoenix, Arizona. She says she would highly recommend the TEP internship and the opportunity to work with Sandra Begay-Campbell. "I got a lot out of the experience. Begay-Campbell is a great mentor, boss and role model. I really appreciated that," affirms Martinez.

Photos: Connie Brooks /Sandia National Laboratories

L to R: Tanya Martinez, Deborah Tewa, Sandra Begay- Campbell, and Jennifer Coots

Renewable Energy and Economic Development
Another person who experienced a new way of looking at the environment and renewable energy was Lani Tsinnajinnie, Diné. She spent the summer of 2006 as a TEP intern and said the program brought together the two areas she had wanted to gain experience in—the environmental field and working for Native American communities. However, Tsinnajinnie was surprised by all the factors that needed to be considered for a renewable energy project. "I thought there'd be a lot of environmental aspects to tribal renewable energy, but it was more multi-dimensional than I realized," she admits. Aspects which need to be considered in the development and implementation of a project are the cultural, social, economic, political and the technical, which can vary from tribe to tribe.
Tsinnajinnie pointed out that from a Western perspective, renewable energy is focused on going green and exploring cleaner alternative energy sources. However, she says from an indigenous perspective, it also includes how to provide energy to very rural areas which may not have any electricity at all. A renewable energy project is not only seen as an alternative energy source but also as a viable economic development opportunity for tribes which could mean jobs for their communities.
The experience with the TEP program has greatly influenced Tsinnajinnie. She graduated in 2007 with a bachelor's of science degree in environmental science and a second major in Native American Studies from the University of New Mexico (UNM). She currently works as an associate research analyst for the Army Corps of Engineers, and will begin a master's degree in the water resources program at UNM in the fall of 2008. Tsinnajinnie encourages those who enter into the TEP internship to participate fully. "Keep an open mind, look and observe [all of] the things involved, it's interesting. Don't be afraid to participate and give your opinion to the tribes and the staff you are working with."

Sandra Begay-Campb ell/Sandia National Laboratories

2003 interns L to R: Shawn Tsabetsaye, Keith Candelaria, Velissa Sandoval, and Deborah Tewa

Building Infrastructure
The TEP internship, while geared toward students in the environmental and engineering fields, is applicable to other subject areas as well. Jennifer Coots, Navajo, interned throughout the year 2004-05. She completed her master of business administration in finance at the Anderson School of Management at UNM in May 2005. She focused her research that summer on the financial aspect of renewable energy systems. Tribes need to consider not only the technical sustainability, but the financial and cultural sustainability of a project as well, says Coots. She feels all three areas are vital in order to build a solid infrastructure to meet tribal renewable energy needs into the future. "I've lived on the Navajo reservation, with no running water, so how does infrastructure begin to be created? We don't have to build and mimic what the rest of the U.S. is developing— the grid [public utilities] is an archaic system. [We need] to develop new ways of building an energy infrastructure and build it in a way that fits into the 21st century. Those are some big choices."
After the summer of 2005, Coots worked for Sandia Labs as a staff person, but recently left at the beginning of 2008 to pursue working exclusively in the area of tribal energy. She is also considering her options to pursue a Ph.D., so she can continue to research in the area of tribal renewable energy. "The biggest thing I learned from the internship is that I love to research and I'd stay late working [that summer]. I never thought I was a research person, but I love it."
Sandra Begay-Campbell points out that in the TEP internship students come away with not only the experience of working in the field, but they learn to be strategic listeners. Students hear directly from the tribal leaders and those working in the environmental field. "They hear all the needs that are applicable to what we can do, what we will do in the area of renewable energy, and what we'll get done in the summer."
Begay-Campbell says the students learn to "swim as fast as they can" with the constant travel, preparing for presentations, learning to talk on their feet, and completing the internship with a research paper by the end of the 12 weeks.
All the hard work and long hours pay off. The interns' research papers are made available to those interested in their findings and experience on the TEP's website. According to Begay- Campbell, all the papers are relevant and facilitate the task of addressing tribal renewable energy resource needs.

Mary K. Bowannie, Zuni Pueblo/Cochiti Pueblo, is a lecturer in the Native American Studies Department at the University of New Mexico and a freelance journalist.

For further information on the Tribal Energy Program and the College Student Summer Internships, visit www.eere.energy.gov/tribalenergy or www.eere.energy.gov/tribalenergy/internships.cfm.