This page is a text version of the video "Indian Energy Success Story: San Pasqual Band of Mission Indians." In the video, John Flores, Environmental Director and Water Manager for the San Pasqual Band of Mission Indians, speaks about the microgrid project on the San Pasqual Band of Mission Indian Reservation.

Read the full blog post:

Microgrid Boosts San Pasqual Band's Energy Sovereignty and Security

Text version:

San Pasqual is fortunate in the sense that we have a lot of sunshine.

We’re located in San Diego county. We get about 300 beautiful, sunny 75-degree days a year basically.

And so, while the tribe doesn’t have an abundant amount of natural resources in terms of traditional stuff, like coal and natural gas underneath the reservation lands, we have plenty of renewable energy up in the sky via sunshine, so we’re really going all-in on renewable energy.

I feel honestly, DOE funding from my experience with San Pasqual has been like that seed that has been planted, and now it’s growing into a large oak.

I think it’s really powerful when tribes do the feasibility studies, they do the technical things, and then they build it, and the community member and the leadership have something to physically see that’s accomplished, it gets them excited to do more.

Success breeds success. If you can see a successful renewable energy project, no matter how small, implemented on your reservation, chances are that’s going to excite people to dream a little bit bigger.