Climate Solutions for Tribal Renewable Energy Development

Unprecedented development of renewable energy projects and infrastructure is expected across the U.S. to meet decarbonization goals by mid-century. How do Tribal Nations fit into this energy landscape? Tribal lands hold an estimated 6.5% of the utility-scale solar potential in the contiguous United States. Siting principles that support a just energy transition are needed to understand and account for land use, land availability, and spatial consequences in socio-cultural landscapes. Decision support tools for siting utility-scale solar projects typically ignore social considerations. This talk focuses on key factors for co-developing climate solutions with Tribal communities. Through early engagement with a Tribal government entity, we co-developed a Renewable Energy Siting Tool (REST) to explore options for solar energy development and assess implications of scenarios with different priorities, such as efficiency, access, and costs. We used a geographical information system - multicriteria decision analysis approach (GIS-MCDA) and an analytical hierarchy process to evaluate siting options based on eight criteria secured from public databases. With a baseline scenario, 20% of the land is feasible for development. Ongoing work with REST involves social considerations, including land designations and heritage sites, in a web user interface.

Speaker: Kimberly Yazzie, Stanford University