Tribal Clean Energy Development: 2017 Changes And 2018 Opportunities

2017 – The Year That Was

For a lot of reasons, many Indian tribes viewed the incoming Trump Administration with some degree of depredation. There were several reports about a desire to “privatize Indian lands” – which many tribes took to mean, taking their lands away and/or opening it up to resource extraction and exploitation by private industry. In addition, the President’s first budget request included substantial cuts in Indian programs, including at the Department of the Interior, Indian Health Services, Environmental Protection Agency, and the Department of Energy. Thankfully, none of these potential derailments of Indian Country progress have come to fruition. However, during 2017 there were several key sets of action – at the federal, state, local, and industry levels –that have, or will, directly impact Indian clean energy development opportunities. Some of these actions will benefit Indian tribes seeking to develop clean energy resources or becoming more