The sokaogan chippewa community (the tribe) is seeking grant funding to develop a comprehensive strategic energy plan and assess the feasibility of a tribal utility authority to execute the plan…

The Sokaogan Chippewa Community was awarded a $252,592 Project Grant under the Tribal Energy Development Capacity (TEDC) Grants program (CFDA 15.148), administered by the Department of the Interior's Bureau of Indian Affairs. The grant funding will support the tribe in developing a comprehensive strategic energy plan and assessing the feasibility of establishing a Tribal Utility Authority (TUA) to oversee the community's energy assets and support long-term clean energy workforce development. Key project elements include updating the tribe's strategic energy plan, conducting a capacity assessment for a TUA, analyzing utility operations feasibility, and developing workforce planning. This grant will build the tribe's technical, administrative, and governance capacity to execute over $6 million in near-term residential and commercial energy projects, while also preparing the community to navigate regulatory changes affecting net metering, energy independence, and resilience.

The sokaogan chippewa community (the tribe) is seeking grant funding to develop a comprehensive strategic energy plan and assess the feasibility of a tribal utility authority to execute the plan towards an operational governance model that provides capacity for the tribe to execute clean energy projects, oversee the energy assets and needs of the community, and support long-term career pathways in clean energy for members of the community.project elements: tedc grant funds will support the tribe in pursuing these main tasks: task 1 update strategic energy plan task 2 TUA capacity assessment task 3 utility operations feasibility task 4 workforce planning task 5 final deliverables.project need: the project will support capacity building as the tribe seeks to deploy over $2 million in solar installation and $4 million in net zero housing as part of its near-term goals. IT will also prepare the tribe overcome regulatory challenges and pricing changes anticipated in 2025-2026 that will effect net metering policies, energy independence, and energy resilience of the community.project OBJECTIVES1.assess the current level of sccs technical, administrative, organizational, and governance capacity for energy and utility infrastructure and services.2.develop energy targets and identify technical, administrative, organizational, or governance gaps to accomplish target energy infrastructure and utility service enhancement, with a focus on ongoing residential and commercial energy development projects.3.determine what processes and procedures will be used to eliminate capacity gaps, particularly with the creation of a TUA and potentially structuring governance in coordination with the tribes housing department and economic development arm.4.develop, where appropriate, utility policy, regulations, and codes, particularly utility billing and transaction codes, so that SCC can distribute its own energy utilities.5.determine how the process and procedures will be implemented by creating a detailed roadmap and business plan.anticipated outcomes: (1) work to achieve energy independence using renewable, emission-free resources (2) reduce tribal energy costs to the extent feasible (3) provide training and jobs and other socioeconomic benefits to SCC members to support the longevity of community benefits through investment in clean energy funding request: the tribe is requesting tedc grant funds in the amount of $252,592.00TEDC project leadwalter panick, director, SCC tribal housing authoritysokaogon chippewa community 3051 sand lake roadcrandon, WI 54520-8815(715) 478-7500EMAIL