Agua Caliente Band of Cahuilla Indians - 2015 Project

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

Summary

The Agua Caliente Band of Cahuilla Indians (ACBCI or the Tribe) is seeking to install a 76.9-kilowatt (kW) SunEdison (or similar equivalent) solar photovoltaic (PV) system to offset the energy usage costs of the Tribal Education and Family Services offices located at the Heritage Plaza office building, 901 Tahquitz Canyon Way, Palm Springs, CA, 92262 (the project). The system’s PV panels would be mounted on the two southern carport shade structures being installed by the Tribe as part of the larger Heritage Plaza Parking Lot Improvements Project.

The proposed solar PV system is estimated to offset 99% of the approximately 115,400 kWh in electricity delivered annually by Southern California Edison (SCE) to the Tribal Education and Family Services offices at Heritage Plaza, reducing their annual energy costs from approximately $22,000 annually to approximately $200. 

The Agua Caliente Indian Reservation, consisting of approximately 31,500 acres, is located in the Southern California desert area known as the Coachella Valley, approximately two hours east of Los Angeles. In the 1860s, the federal government transferred ownership of all the odd-numbered sections of land in the Coachella Valley to the Southern Pacific Railroad. Thus, when the ACBCI Reservation was established by Executive Order in 1876, only the even-numbered sections were still available, creating a checkerboard pattern.

To encourage economic development, the federal government allocated the bulk of the Reservation land to the individual tribal members in a process called “allotment” that lasted until 1959. That same year, and for the same purpose, Congress authorized only ACBCI and its members to lease their land for up to 99 years. However, under the Tribe’s Constitution, adopted in 1955, and federal law, the Tribe maintains primary control over the use and development of all land on the Reservation, including those parcels located within city boundaries.

The overall vision of the ACBCI embraces the continuous provision of exceptional quality and service to all team members (employees) and guests. The availability of safe, reliable, affordable, and clean energy is critical to achieving this vision. Thus, the Tribe is committed to: 1) furthering its goals for self-sufficiency, self-determination, and sustainable development through empowerment in the Tribe’s energy interests and 2) ensuring adequate supply and quality of energy to meet the Reservation’s present and future needs, thereby contributing to the economies of the ACBCI and the surrounding Coachella Valley, consistent with the Tribe’s dedication to a clean, safe, and secure environment.

The ACBCI strategic energy goals and energy objectives related to this project are:

• To identify and act upon energy management alternatives, and/or viable energy efficiency, conservation, load management, and/or renewable generation projects that can facilitate economic and community development
• To identify and act upon opportunities for development of tribal renewable energy resources that meet tribal needs, consistent with the Tribe’s mission to preserve resources, cultural heritage, traditional values, and beliefs.

The project’s objective is to install a 76.9-kW solar PV system to offset the energy usage costs of the Tribal Education and Family Services offices located at the Tribe's Heritage Plaza office building. The system's PV panels will be mounted on the two southern carport shade structures being installed as part of the larger Heritage Plaza Parking Lot Improvements Project.

The proposed solar PV system is estimated to offset 99% of the 115,400 kilowatt-hours (kWh)  of electricity delivered annually by SCE to the Tribal Education and Family Services offices at Heritage Plaza. 

Tribal facilities staff will contract out the construction of the Project. The installation of the solar PV system will take place as part of the larger Heritage Plaza Parking Lot Improvements Project, the construction of which will be competitively bid out in accordance with the terms of the Tribe's program agreement with the Federal Highway Administration (FHWA), U.S. Department of Energy (DOE) grant requirements, and federal procurement regulations. Tribal facilities staff have successfully managed multi-million-dollar projects ranging from large-scale hotel and casino construction to individual unit tenant improvements. ACBCI team members and tribal facilities staff also have experience in renewable energy development through the successful planning, design, and installation of the 8.25-kW off-grid solar PV system at the Indian Canyons Trading Post.

The project will be completed in phases during a 10-month period and is estimated to begin in the summer of 2015. Portions of the parking lot will be blocked off so that building operations can continue uninterrupted while parking lot improvement work is taking place. Additionally, ACBCI anticipates that the summer months will provide lower building traffic flow from Tribal Education and Family Services, which should decrease tenant disturbance and improve overall project time to completion. Solar panel placement/installation will be performed once carport structures have been installed at the site. Solar panels will be placed on top of two shade structures. As part of the grant requirements, the Tribe will assess SCE electricity bills, following installation, for a 12-month period.

All aspects of the installation process will be approved through the Tribe's Planning and Natural Resource Division. Planned checks will take place throughout the process and the selected vendor will be required to submit all plans, along with engineering detail for inspection and review, prior to initiation of the solar installation.

Plan check engineers will inspect and provide approval at various phases of the installation. This installation will be bid out as part of the larger Heritage Plaza Parking Lot Improvement Project. 

The Project is located at the Tribal Education and Family Services offices located at the Tribe’s Heritage Plaza commercial building, 901 Tahquitz Canyon Way, Palm Springs, CA, 92262. Heritage Plaza is a tribally controlled building located on Allotted Indian Trust Land (Allotment 94A) in Section 14, Township 4 South, Range 4 East of the San Bernardino Meridian and the Agua Caliente Indian Reservation (see map included in the Site and Resource Maps and Graphic file). The Tribe controls Heritage Plaza under a long-term lease that runs through 2043. 

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

The project was competitively selected under the DOE Office of Indian Energy Tribal Energy Deployment Program's fiscal year 2015 funding opportunity announcement “Deployment of Clean Energy and Energy Efficiency Projects on Indian Lands” (DE-FOA-0001021) and started in August 2015.

The March 2015 and December 2016 project status report provides more information.

For current project status or additional information, please contact: