Arizona tribe gets $6M in federal funding to electrify homes

PHOENIX — Members of Arizona’s Hopi tribe are set to benefit from an influx of over $6 million in federal funds meant to provide clean energy, authorities announced on Thursday.

The Hopi Tribe is one of many communities that will receive millions through the latest round of funding coming from the Bureau of Indian Affairs’ Tribal Electrification Program.

The U.S. Department of the Interior (DOI) will give the Hopi Utilities Corporation a total of $6,060,459.

On top of that, the Navajo tribe, which stretches from Arizona to cover parts of New Mexico and Utah, will also benefit from the flush of funds.

The DOI will give the Navajo Tribal Utility Authority a total of $7,376,200.

They’re two of the 13 Tribal communities that will benefit from a total of $71 million in funding the Biden-Harris administration announced.

What impact will new funds from Tribal Electrification Program have?

The total amount of cash will pay for:

• Financial and technical assistance needed to connect homes in Tribal communities to clean energy sources.
• Zero-emissions energy systems that will provide electricity to homes that are currently unelectrified.
• Transitioning homes that already use electricity to source their power from zero-emissions energy sources.
• Home repairs and upgrades needed to install zero-emissions energy systems.
• Clean energy workforce development opportunities across Tribal communities.

DOI Secretary Deb Haaland said the Tribal Electrification Program is building reliable and resilient energy that Tribal communities can count on.

“Every family deserves to have access to reliable, affordable electricity,” Haaland said in a Thursday news release.

Why Biden, Harris want clean energy for Tribal communities

The DOI is issuing this money to further President Joe Biden’s Investing in America Agenda.

A key part of this agenda was the Inflation Reduction Act, which Biden signed into law on Aug. 16, 2022.

Many Tribal communities struggle with high electricity costs and poor insulation, according to MIT Solve.

Essentially, the purpose of the Tribal Electrification Program is to help these areas to upgrade their energy infrastructure.

How much feds have spent supporting clean energy for Tribal communities

This new announcement reflects the final round of funding of the Tribal Electrification Program.

All in all, the administration has committed to spending a total of $150 million to provide clean energy to communities in need.

In the first round of funding, the administration gave $72 million to 21 Tribes and Tribal organizations.

Assistant Secretary for Indian Affairs Bryan Newland said electricity is essential to daily living.

“Working with Tribal governments on developing clean energy sources and bringing the benefits of dependable electricity to their communities is part of our mission of service to federally recognized Tribes,” Newland said in the release.