Two Studies Highlight Tribal
Energy Issues
Two recent studies shed light on energy
consumption, energy burden and access to electricity
by Native Americans. In March 2000, the U.S. Department of Energy,
Energy Information Administration, released a report on energy consumption and the
potential for renewables on American Indian lands. The study, titled, Energy Consumption and
Renewable Energy Development Potential on Indian Lands "catalogs for the first
time, the actual energy needs of tribes, which historically have suffered from lack of access to
electricity and other basic infrastructure needs," according to a DOE press release. The
study shows that 14.2 percent of all Indian homes on reservations have no access to electricity and
that a typical Indian household on Indian lands spends 4 percent of its income on electricity,
with the poorest households paying nearly 20 percent. The study also looks at the
potential for renewable energy development. Click here for
an overview of the study.
In May 1998, the Native American Renewable Energy Education Project
(NAREEP) published Lowering Energy Bills in American Indian Households: A
Case Study of the Rosebud Sioux Tribe. While the main focus of the report was to identify
energy efficiency resources and document the potential for energy efficiency in the
housing stock of the Rosebud Sioux Tribe, Rosebud, South Dakota, the 122-page report also contains
a wealth of demographic, energy and housing data relevant to all tribes. It
also provides some general suggestions for other tribes interested in starting a residential
energy efficiency program.
Click here for an overview of the
study.
Page Last Updated: December 7, 2005
