The Department of Energy expanded a $50 million tribal energy funding opportunity to more than $125 million after tribal applications sought roughly 10 times the initial amount.
The agency selected 63 tribe-led projects across 16 states for what it described as the largest single investment in the Office of Indian Energy’s history. The projects include electrification, geothermal development, transmission and energy planning.
The selections are subject to award negotiations and do not guarantee funding.
Eric Mahroum, director of the Office of Indian Energy Policy and Programs, said the surge in demand demonstrated the scale of unmet energy needs across tribal communities. The office used carryover funds to expand the selections, he said.
“Indian Country is sending a clear message that they want to engage with the Department of Energy,” Mahroum said. “They have energy needs, and they’re looking to get those needs met.”
Mahroum told Tribal Business News that the department looked for applications that addressed affordability and electrification for homes without power. He said the office also prioritized projects that aligned with the Trump administration’s interest in geothermal and nuclear development, along with efforts to strengthen transmission on and off reservation lands.
The Confederated Tribes of Warm Springs in Oregon requested about $2.5 million to study local geothermal resources for potential baseload generation. Cathy Ehli, executive director of Warm Springs Power & Water Enterprises, said the funding would further work that began in the 1990s.
“Warm Springs Power & Water Enterprises has been evaluating geothermal energy resources on the reservation since the 1990s. This award will significantly advance these efforts,” Ehli told Tribal Business News. “It will support the Confederated Tribes of Warm Springs in better characterizing the potential resource and explore how this type of development aligns with the Tribes’ energy vision.”
Other selections include home electrification, transmission studies, critical minerals planning and workforce development. Navajo Tribal Utility Authority requested $7.5 million to connect homes without power, while the Navajo Transitional Energy Company requested $2.5 million to study a 500-kilovolt transmission line. Quapaw Nation in Oklahoma requested $2.5 million for critical minerals development planning, and Blackfeet Community College in Montana sought $821,439 for energy workforce development.
OIE leveled particular focus at Alaska, Mahroum said, directing a significant share of the funding toward communities facing some of the highest energy costs in the country.
Alaska accounts for 20 selected projects with combined funding requests of nearly $50 million, including power plant construction, hydropower, geothermal exploration and battery storage design. The Alutiiq Tribe of Old Harbor requested $4.4 million toward a $5.4 million hydroelectric construction project, while the Alaska Federation of Natives sought $1.5 million for statewide tribal energy planning and feasibility work.
Mahroum said many Alaska Native communities struggle with reliable heating and power in remote and extreme conditions.
“Alaska communities deal with challenges that make energy both essential and hard to deliver,” Mahroum said.
Cheri Smith, president and CEO of the Alliance for Tribal Clean Energy, commended DOE for expanding the funding, but said tribal needs remain unmet, as evidenced by the $500 million in requests for the original $50 million NOFO.
“The extraordinary demand for these funds should send a clear signal to policymakers,” Smith told Tribal Business News. “The need for greater federal investment in Tribal energy development is undeniable.”
Smith also questioned how many applications sought support for solar and wind projects after a sharp federal pivot away from those technologies in the Trump administration’s first year.
DOE’s project list includes hydropower, battery storage, natural gas, critical minerals and energy planning, but none of the titles mentions solar or wind.
Smith said the Alliance is helping tribes structure financing for $750 million in hydro, solar and battery storage projects that face a combined $298 million financing gap.
“The economic opportunity is enormous, but so is the cost of leaving these projects without adequate financing,” Smith said. “That means making federal resources available in ways that respond to tribal priorities rather than steering tribes toward the administration’s preferred energy sources.”
