The U.S. Department of Energy (DOE) Office of Indian Energy, in partnership with the Western Area Power Administration (WAPA), is hosting a free webinar titled “Steps Toward Your Tribal Community Energy Future” on Wednesday, February 28, from 11 a.m. to 1 p.m. Mountain Time.

Sovereign tribal nations across the United States have recognized the important economic value of developing and implementing community energy plans. The community energy planning process helps tribal members establish short- and long-range energy and economic development goals, and identify challenges and opportunities for meeting current and future energy needs in an economically, socially, and environmentally sustainable fashion.

In this webinar, tribal leaders and community members will learn how to develop a community energy plan, including an overview of the five-step project development process developed by DOE’s National Renewable Energy Laboratory (NREL) for the Office of Indian Energy. Attendees will learn the importance of using an inclusive planning process with tribal community participation to gain support for and ownership of all aspects of the plan. Speakers will describe barriers likely to be encountered during the planning process, provide tips on how to overcome those barriers, and identify tools and resources that can help tribes establish an energy plan based on developing natural resources with maximum local control and ownership.

The webinar will begin with introductions from Randy Manion of WAPA and Lizana Pierce of the Office of Indian Energy. Sean Esterly of NREL will then share information on the community energy planning process, followed by tribal case studies from representatives of the Southern Ute Tribe, Ho-Chunk, Inc., and the Confederated Salish and Kootenai Tribes on how their communities have developed and implemented energy plans to advance their tribes’ energy and economic development goals.

There is no charge to attend, but registration is required. Register now for this webinar, and learn more about the 2018 Tribal Sovereignty and Self-Determination through Community Energy Development webinar series.