Sunstone Energy: Solar and Battery Microgrids as a Solution to the Tribal "Energy Gap" (Eco-E)

Tribal communities in the United States experience stark energy inequality. Many Tribal members either lack access to the electrical grid, or, for those who are connected, have less reliable and more expensive electricity than the broader United States. For instance, tribal communities experience 6.5 times more power outages and they typically last 3 times longer. Solar photovoltaic (PV) and battery energy storage (BESS) microgrids are a viable solution to reduce energy costs and increase energy reliability for most Tribal communities in the United States. PV & BESS microgrids will improve energy access and reliability, increase community resilience, reduce costs, and fortify Tribal energy sovereignty and self-determination.

Moving forward, the microgrid market in the United States is rapidly increasing as component costs decline and the incumbent electrical grid degrades. There is ample opportunity and funding for Tribes to develop microgrids. However because of policy, capacity, financial, and technical barriers, some Tribes are not able to capitalize on microgrid funding and development resources. As such, a business model, titled Sunstone Energy, was developed. Sunstone Energy is a PV & BESS service provider built for nonprofits and forprofits who serve Tribes that struggle with the complex pre-development process of microgrid projects on Tribal lands. To address the pre-development hurdle, the Sunstone team developed a spatial and energy analysis system, which includes a proprietary ESRI Dashboard toolkit. Leveraging remote sensing technology and LiDAR images, Sunstone Energy can pinpoint optimal locations for PV & BESS microgrids to meet peak energy demands and reduce utility costs for tribal communities.

Acknowledgements

UC Santa Barbara Bren School: Emily Cotter, Environmental Innovation Program Manager and Lecturer; Dr. Roland Geyer, Professor; Dr. Ranjit Deshmukh, Assistant Professor; Dr. Robert Heilmayr, Assistant Professor; Dr. Diane Boss, Bren School Dean’s Council

Henry Boulley, Principal, Indian Energy LLC.

Daniel Cardenas, Co-Founder, Center for Native American Mining and Energy Sovereignty (CNAMES).

David Sickey, CEO, Sickey Global Strategies, LLC; Former Chairman, Coushatta Tribe of Louisiana.