KiloNewton Working on Tribal Solar Project in Montana
/KiloNewton is excited to be working on a new and rewarding community solar project with the Northern Cheyenne Tribe in Lame Deer, MT. We are serving the Tribe in the role of consultant and owner’s engineer to ensure that they build the lowest possible levelized cost of energy (LCOE) project on their lands.
The Northern Cheyenne people are consistently anti-fossil fuels and pro-renewable energy, yet have had difficulty implementing renewables, until now. KiloNewton worked with the Tribe and their representatives to help them obtain a $2 million DOE grant to help fund a 2.6MW ground-mount solar plant to serve the energy needs of the town of Busby and various tribal facilities.
“Under the White River Community Solar Project, the Northern Cheyenne Tribe will install 2.6 MW of solar PV on two parcels of undeveloped land, plus 400 kW to provide behind-the-meter solar electricity to three tribal facilities. The project is estimated to generate $5 million of combined annual energy savings and revenue for the life of the system, offset 80% of electricity usage in critical community buildings, and substantially reduce the Tribe’s carbon footprint…
The selected projects are consistent with the principles of tribal sovereignty and self-determination, with a fuel- and technology- neutral energy strategy that recognizes the breadth of energy resources on tribal lands, and each tribe’s right to use them as they see fit,” said Office of Indian Energy Director Kevin R. Frost.
Read more about the DOE energy grants for this and the other award winners here: