Economic potential of wind and solar in American Indian communities

Abstract

Could renewable energy development on American Indian Reservations alleviate poverty? This Article combines data on wind and solar endowments, reservation characteristics and utility-scale renewable energy projects to offer three insights. First, the colonial process of reservation creation that intentionally deprived tribes of other natural resources unintentionally left them with favourable wind and solar, especially on reservations with the lowest-income populations. Second, despite favourable endowments, renewable projects are rare: reservation lands are 46% less likely to host wind farms and 110% less likely to host solar than comparable adjacent lands. Third, if this disparity persists, tribes may forgo over US$19 billion in lease and tax earnings that could be accrued under forecasts of renewable energy demand through 2050. We highlight barriers—such as regulatory complexity and uncertainty—that help explain this disparity and emphasize this is not a call to impose federal energy priorities on unwilling tribes.