- Details
- By Tribal Business News Staff
- Native Contracting
A joint venture between a tribally owned enterprise and a Native-owned energy developer has secured a $45 million U.S. Army Corps of Engineers contract to build a mission-critical microgrid at Fort Buchanan in Puerto Rico.
Energy Resilience Partners LLC, a Belcourt, N.D.-based JV, will design and construct the system, which will integrate dispatchable generation, battery storage, renewable energy and advanced communications controls, according to the company. Designed to keep military operations running for up to 14 days during commercial-grid outage, the project has a 1,141-calendar day timeline once the government issues a formal notice to proceed.
The joint venture is led by Chippewa Sustainable Solutions Inc., an SBA 8(a) company owned by the Turtle Mountain Band of Chippewa Indians, the company said. Indian Energy LLC, a 100% Native-owned microgrid developer and operator, is a joint venture member.
Energy Resilience Partners credited Indian Energy’s track record on the Viejas Enterprise Microgrid in California with strengthening the team’s bid. The Viejas system combines 15 megawatts of solar generation with 70 megawatt-hours of long-duration battery storage on the Viejas Band of Kumeyaay Indians’ lands.
The project received a $72.8 million partial loan guarantee from the Department of Energy and became the first financing closed under DOE’s Tribal Energy Financing Program, according to the agency. The project also received a $43.3 million grant from the California Energy Commission, the largest-ever amount for a tribal project at the time.
The Army Corps’ Louisville District awarded the contract, numbered W912QR26CA025.
