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- By Chez Oxendine
- Energy | Environment
A tribally owned enterprise has broken new ground in the renewable energy market, paving the way for other Native enterprises to compete in the growing global offset sector.
Seneca Environmental, owned by the Seneca Nation, has sold renewable energy certificates (RECs) to San Francisco-based Pinterest, Inc., a social media platform for visual content sharing. Terms were not disclosed, though Seneca Environmental said in a statement the RECs were sold across 15 countries. The sale is the first of its kind between a tribal entity and a major corporation.
“The tribal energy sector is still pretty nascent, even though people have been working on these for 30 years or more,” Seneca Environment Vice President Matt Rennert told Tribal Business News. “We want to be additive in that space and get things started. One of the biggest challenges is capacity and expertise in energy, and we have created that capacity internally to be able to do that side of the business.”
Matt Renner, Seneca Environmental Each renewable energy certificate represents one megawatt-hour of clean energy and can be sold on various federal and global markets. The certificates verify clean energy purchases and are tracked separately from the actual energy, which flows into the wider grid.
The deal helps Pinterest power its offices with 100% clean energy, per their social impact report. For Seneca Environmental, the deal opens a new market — one they plan to supply with tribally-made RECs. Revenue from REC sales would support his company’s energy development efforts, which could enable other tribes to sell energy certificates, Renner said.
“This is part of a long term plan and something that we're very focused on, which is helping get these RECs that come off of tribally owned projects in the future to market,” he said. “Corporates are looking for impact with their rec purchases. So they want to say there's a story behind this REC - it's not just a regular REC that you would buy on the market from any project out there. That's where we're headed: trying to bring tribal RECs on board once those projects come online and they can begin selling them.”
The deal originated from a meeting two years ago between Seneca Environmental's leadership and Pinterest's sustainability director, Mia Ketterling. Pinterest wanted to purchase RECs to offset its carbon footprint, particularly in regions where the company cannot directly procure renewable energy.
After months of negotiations, Seneca Environmental was able to compile and purchase RECs across 15 countries to meet Pinterest's needs.
“We asked ourselves, ‘how do you create additional revenues that recognize the importance of energy coming from wind, solar, or other renewable sources?’” Renner said. “We are one of a very few companies that are tribally owned and sell RECs, and in doing so, we think that's a scalable way for us to be helping corporations meet their climate goals while supporting the Seneca Nation.”
The deal also builds on existing efforts in the REC market after Seneca Environmental secured a $1.7 million bid to sell RECs to the General Services Administration. Owing to these experiences, Seneca Environmental Business Operations Manager Wenona Scott said another service the tribe can now provide is teaching other tribes about acquiring and selling certificates.
“It’s complicated for sure, but I think we can help people,” Scott said. “We have made it easy to understand this, and I think it can be used by other tribes if they want to pursue it.”
However, there’s a “lot of market volatility at the moment,” Alliance for Tribal Clean Energy CEO Cheri Smith told Tribal Business News. The Alliance, which utilizes philanthropy and technical expertise to assist tribes in developing clean energy, named Seneca Environmental one of their first preferred development partners in early 2024.
But Smith said there were a lot of questions around the REC markets, particularly amid a decidedly less clean energy-sympathetic Trump administration, that merited caution.
“The message for tribes at large is: if you don’t understand it, get a strong understanding of the market, ensure you have compliance and invest in effective management of the resources you’re handling,” Smith said. “I think tribes should engage and partner only with organizations deeply familiar with REC markets - that will increase the likelihood of a successful venture.”
Looking ahead, Seneca Environmental is focused on building its capabilities to serve as an intermediary and development partner for tribal energy projects. The company aims to help small and large tribal projects access the REC market, ensuring they receive fair value for the renewable energy they produce. This aligns with the broader goal of supporting the growth of the tribal energy industry, Renner said.
