Chippewa Cree Tribe – 2016 Project

NOTE: Project pages are being updated regularly to reflect changes, if any; however, some of the information may be dated.

Project Summary

The Chippewa Cree Tribe proposed project consists of the design, installation, inspection, and interconnection of six grid-tied, solar electric systems (three duplexes). The systems will total at least 21 kilowatts (kW) rated capacity on existing low-income single-family homes located on the Chippewa Cree Indians of the Rocky Boy’s Reservation, Montana, providing an estimated 27% savings in displaced electricity. The homeowners will be educated on energy efficiency and renewable energy. Tribal Housing Construction staff, Stone Child College (SCC) students, and interested community members will assist with the installations, gaining valuable hands-on experience.

The Chippewa Cree Tribe of the Rocky Boy’s Indian Reservation is a federally recognized Tribe located in north central Montana. In 2006, the Tribe formed the Chippewa Cree Energy Corporation, whose duty is to carry out goals as outlined in the Chippewa Cree Energy Master Plan, which was completed in 2009. The Goal Statement of the Energy Corporation is: “Chippewa Cree Energy will strive for sustainable development of renewable and nonrenewable energy resources on the Rocky Boy’s Reservation.”

This solar photovoltaic (PV) project serves as a pilot project, which will spur further green energy development on the Reservation.

The overall project goal is to install clean energy systems in order to achieve the Chippewa Cree Tribe’s long-term goals of energy self-sufficiency, environmental protection, and better lives for their tribal members and community.

The project has the following measurable objectives:

• Objective 1: During the project phase, the Chippewa Cree Tribe will install six grid-tied (three duplexes), solar electric systems for low-income families living on the Rocky Boy’s Reservation and provide hands-on solar installation training to at least 10 tribal community volunteers and job trainees, as measured by contract records, purchasing records, training records, and photographic evidence.
• Objective 2: During the second project phase, the Chippewa Cree Tribe will monitor these systems and document that the systems will generate at least 20.67 kW rated capacity of clean renewable energy and displace at least 27% of total kBtu in electricity usage, as measured by utility bills.

The project will provide a source of clean, renewable solar electricity for six low-income families, resulting in an expected annual cumulative savings of $2,586 for the tenants. This figure is significant, since the annual combined income of the six tenants is $48,816, and they spent a total of $10,987 on electricity in the 12 months prior to the Tribe’s submission of its grant application. This amounts to 22.5% of gross income spent on electricity. This project is slated to decrease that percentage to 17.2%, which is a significant saving for these low-income families. It is estimated that the systems will produce a lifetime savings of $64,656 over 25 years.

The Chippewa Cree Tribe of the Rocky Boy’s Indian Reservation is located in north central Montana and the Reservation consists of approximately 122,000 acres. The PV installation will be on three duplexes (six housing units) that were constructed in 2014 and are 1,130 square feet per unit. The homes are on trust land located in a highly visible part of the Rocky Boy’s Indian Reservation on Upper Box Elder Road (BIA Route 6). The duplexes are oriented close to due south, have moderate pitch, and are ideal for solar PV. The roofs can structurally accommodate the PV units. The houses which will receive the solar panels are within the newest housing development (Middle Dry Fork) and within the heart of the tribal Development Corridor.

The project is complete. For additional details, see the final report.

The project was competitively selected under the U.S. Department of Energy Office of Indian Energy’s Fiscal Year 2015 funding opportunity announcement “Deployment of Clean Energy and Energy Efficiency Projects on Indian Lands – 2015” (DE-FOA-0001390) and started in June 2016.

The November 2016 and November 2017 project status reports provide more information.