Ms. Wahleah Johns, Senior Advisor and Acting Director of the U.S. Department of Energy (DOE) Office of Indian Energy, and Mr. Jigar Shah, Executive Director of the DOE Loan Programs Office, will host a 2-hour virtual roundtable discussion session on funding and financing tribal energy projects on Wednesday, May 5, 2021, from 2:30 to 4:30 p.m. Eastern Time (ET). 

This session welcomes all tribal leaders and staff responsible for energy and utility programs, economic and enterprise development, and finance; related tribal non-profits and associations; and industry, including banks, equity investors, and energy developers.

Ms. Johns and Mr. Shah are interested in hearing from all participants about challenges in developing tribal energy projects and how funding and financing programs offered through DOE can be structured to address them. Participants are encouraged to use this opportunity to speak directly with Ms. Johns and Mr. Shah to contribute feedback on making these programs more effective for Indian Country to meet tribal economic development and energy resilience needs. 

Register for the roundtable discussion.

DOE encourages written comments and questions in advance of the session; please submit by 5 p.m. ET Monday, May 3, to telgp@hq.doe.gov.

For more information on the Office of Indian Energy, visit the Office's website. The mission of the Office of Indian Energy is to maximize the development and deployment of energy solutions for the benefit of American Indians and Alaska Natives.

For more information on the Loan Programs Office and its Tribal Energy Loan Guarantee Program (TELGP), visit the Office's website. Through TELGP, the Loan Programs Office can provide up to $2 billion in partial loan guarantees to support economic opportunities to tribes through energy development projects and activities.