Renewable Energy Siting Research Featured in E&E News Tribal Sovereignty Article
Tallgrass Institute’s renewable energy siting paper was featured in the article, Energy dominance collides with tribal sovereignty, by E&E News about Tribal response to the U.S. Department of Energy’s request to rollback consultation policy. The report includes comments from Tallgrass Institute Founder & Executive Director Kate Finn:
“In conversations we’ve had with investors, the need to get renewable capacity online as quickly as possible was often pitted against the need to engage with Indigenous peoples,” said Kate Finn, executive director of the Tallgrass Institute, which promotes Indigenous sovereignty. “What we say is the reality is that the need for energy doesn’t have to be in opposition to engagement with Indigenous people. There’s a way to include Indigenous perspectives in a meaningful way.”
Finn’s group recently partnered with investment firm Trillium Asset Management on a report laying out best practices for investors to engage with Native American tribes before embarking on projects that affect their lands. That includes conducting due diligence on projects, being transparent with tribal partners, building relationships and finding structures to share benefits.
Those practices are important since Native American land — which comprises 2 percent of total U.S. territory — has about 6 percent of the country’s renewable energy resource potential and investors are looking for every available opportunity to build new projects. The report said that the consultation step isn’t just about respect — it can also “support efficient capital flow to projects that are more likely to be successful in the long term.”