welcome
It is imperative that the development and deployment of renewable energy and other forms of clean energy technology on tribal lands is done in a way that recognizes and respects the sovereignty of New Mexico’s tribal nations, supports tribal initiatives to preserve sacred land, and develop meaningful economic opportunities for tribal communities.
According to the National Renewable Energy Laboratory (NREL), tribal land constitutes about 4% of total U.S. contiguous land, but tribal nations possess a higher percentage of potential renewable energy resources. These resources, in additional to newer clean energy technology such as green hydrogen, geothermal and other forms of earth energy resources, mean that the tribes and pueblos of New Mexico have clean energy resources on their sacred lands that can help the tribes meet their energy, economic development, and land protection goals.
The passage of the historic Infrastructure Investment and Jobs Act (IIJA) of 2022 and the Inflation Reduction Act of 2022 –will soon provide tribal nations with an unprecedented opportunity to increase the economic benefit to tribally developed and owned energy projects. Because of the IRA, the provision of Elective Pay (commonly known as Direct Pay), will allow tribes to take advantage of federal energy project tax credits for the very first time. This will bring the cost of projects down and deliver increased economic benefits and jobs to tribal communities.
In order to unlock the transformative potential of clean energy development by New Mexico’s tribes and pueblos, I am committing myself and my staff to a new partnership – beginning with my Tribal Energy Consortium initiative. The Tribal Energy Consortium is my commitment to increased support to the tribes, through an ongoing series of educational events and listening sessions to support the tribes and pueblos in achieving their clean energy development goals.
This section of my website will have sections with links to resources from past events, a schedule of upcoming events, and much more. In the coming weeks and months, we will add additional resources to help tribes make sure they have not missed important federal program funding announcements, from the Department of Energy, Department of Agriculture, Bureau of Indian Affairs and others. We will provide links and resources to help enable tribal feedback to the Federal government regarding proposed rulemaking that directly impacts tribes, and we will have a mechanism for your tribes and pueblos to provide feedback to and requests for support from me and my staff.
I look forward to hearing from and listening to each tribe and pueblos clean energy goals and I dedicate my support to helping you achieve these and in bringing to bear the power of my office to help you overcome any and all obstacles.
