Forest County Potawatomi Community – 2017 Project

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

Summary

The Forest County Potawatomi Community (FCPC) is implementing a long-term energy goal and vision of being energy independent, and using renewable, carbon-free, or carbon-neutral energy. To that end, the Tribe will install approximately 55 solar photovoltaic (PV) energy systems with a cumulative generation capacity of roughly 734 kilowatts (kW). The project will include system installations on 50 tribal homes and five community and government buildings, resulting in savings of more than $70,000 annually.

FCPC has been a leader in energy conservation, not only in the State of Wisconsin, but also nationally. In 2016, the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) ranked FCPC 11th in its Top 30 Local Government List because of the extensive measures the Tribe has taken toward its goal of achieving 100% carbon-neutral energy independence. Some of these efforts include the reduction of the tribal government workweek to four days instead of five, the purchase of renewable energy certificates to more than offset the Tribe’s annual energy consumption, and the construction and operation of a biogas facility in Milwaukee, WI.

In 2014, FCPC installed 922.95 kW of solar PV systems on select government and gaming facilities in Milwaukee, WI, and the Tribe’s Forest County lands. This project was co-funded by DOE with an initial target total of 737.5 kW. However, during the course of the project, the Tribe recognized numerous cost-saving measures and was able to include additional facilities and kW for the project.

Until now, FCPC has focused on energy-efficiency options and renewable energy production for government, community, and gaming buildings. This project broadens the scope of the Tribe’s previous work by providing clean, renewable energy options to the residential community. The Tribe has seen significant energy savings as a result of previous projects, and it anticipates that the proposed project will do the same for tribal membership.

The goals of the project are to: 1) increase the Tribe’s energy independence by increasing capacity to generate clean, renewable power in an economically feasible manner; 2) provide a continued model for others in Indian Country; and, 3) allow for continued development of tribal energy through the integration of projects on Tribal residences.

The scope of the project includes:

• Installing roughly 55 PV systems with a cumulative generation capacity of approximately 734 kW, estimated to cover:  four currently identified Government/Community (non-residential) buildings; a selection of tribal residential properties, as appropriate; one casino; and additional facilities identified through coordination with the solar consultant.
• Assessing the performance of the PV systems installed under the first objective, and measuring and verifying energy savings through an Evaluation, Monitoring, and Verification (EM&V) process; and
• Evaluating long-term economic and environmental costs for the PV systems implemented in this study.

With this community-wide approach, the Tribe anticipates substantial energy offset, ranging from 7%–53% grid electricity reduction at each of the proposed sites. This outcome would greatly support the Tribe’s overall energy mission of achieving 100% carbon neutrality.

The FCPC reservation lands consist of 12,000 acres in rural Forest County, Wisconsin. The Tribe's reservation lands are "checker boarded," meaning that non-Indian-owned land and tribal reservation land border each other in several locations, resulting in a visual "checkerboard" of Indian and non-Indian lands. The Tribe consists of more than 1,400 members, many of whom reside in the tribal communities of Stone Lake, Carter, and Blackwell, located in rural, northern Wisconsin. The project includes 55 PV system installations on:  four currently identified Government/Community (non-residential) buildings, a selection of Tribal residential properties, as appropriate, and one casino (Potawatomi Carter Casino Hotel), all within the Tribe’s Forest County, WI, reservation lands.

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

The project was competitively selected under the DOE Office of Indian Energy Fiscal Year 2016 funding opportunity announcement “Deployment of Energy Efficiency and Clean Energy on Indian Lands – 2017” (DE-FOA-0001660) and started in September 2017.

The November 2017, December 2018, November 2019, and December 2020 project status reports provide more information.