Why is wind important to the Tribes of the Great Plains?
A. Wind is an incredible untapped energy resource that could go a long way toward making this country energy independent. It has been said that an ocean of energy crosses the Great Plains every day. Tribes here have many thousands of megawatts of potential wind power blowing across our reservation lands. Tribes in the Great Plains could look to the wind as a constant source of renewable energy to help meet our own local energy needs in a way that protects our air, water, and land. Tribes are interested in protecting their sovereignty and providing for their reservation communities. Tribally owned wind projects can provide an opportunity to generate power locally in a clean way that meets our needs in an affordable way, now and for the future. Wind power can provide several sources of revenue to the tribe, through the sale of energy, the sale of green tags, and the use of production incentives. But to realize this potential, tribes need technical assistance from the federal government t
