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Yakama Nation Briefs EM Leader on Innovative Solar Irrigation Project
A member of the U.S. Department of Energy’s Office of Environmental Management leadership team recently meet with Yakama Nation elected leaders and staff to share EM’s vision to accelerate nuclear cleanup and hear tribal perspectives.
Office of Environmental Management
September 8, 2026
Estimated Read Time min
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EM Chief Operating Officer David Brunnert, second from right, and Hanford Field Office Senior Advisor Tom Teynor, at right, hear about Yakama Nation energy projects from Yakama Power General Manager Ray Wiseman.
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Brunnert, right, views solar panels built by the Yakama Nation. Wiseman is at center.
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Yakama Nation leaders highlight an important resource — sturgeon from the Columbia River — to Brunnert, second from right. The Yakama Nation’s sturgeon hatchery supports efforts to return a robust sturgeon population to the Columbia River.
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Members of the Yakama Nation thank Brunnert, left, for visiting their reservation in south-central Washington state, where he viewed some of their most important projects and resources.
Caption
EM Chief Operating Officer David Brunnert, second from right, and Hanford Field Office Senior Advisor Tom Teynor, at right, hear about Yakama Nation energy projects from Yakama Power General Manager Ray Wiseman.
EM Chief Operating Officer David Brunnert, second from right, and Hanford Field Office Senior Advisor Tom Teynor, at right, hear about Yakama Nation energy projects from Yakama Power General Manager Ray Wiseman.
Caption
Brunnert, right, views solar panels built by the Yakama Nation. Wiseman is at center.
Brunnert, right, views solar panels built by the Yakama Nation. Wiseman is at center.
Caption
Yakama Nation leaders highlight an important resource — sturgeon from the Columbia River — to Brunnert, second from right. The Yakama Nation’s sturgeon hatchery supports efforts to return a robust sturgeon population to the Columbia River.
Yakama Nation leaders highlight an important resource — sturgeon from the Columbia River — to Brunnert, second from right. The Yakama Nation’s sturgeon hatchery supports efforts to return a robust sturgeon population to the Columbia River.
Caption
Members of the Yakama Nation thank Brunnert, left, for visiting their reservation in south-central Washington state, where he viewed some of their most important projects and resources.
Members of the Yakama Nation thank Brunnert, left, for visiting their reservation in south-central Washington state, where he viewed some of their most important projects and resources.
TOPPENISH, Wash. — A member of the U.S. Department of Energy’s Office of Environmental Management (EM) leadership team recently meet with Yakama Nation elected leaders and staff to share EM’s vision to accelerate nuclear cleanup and hear tribal perspectives. Yakama Power, a tribal utility that provides electricity on the reservation, briefed EM Chief Operating Officer David Brunnert on plans for an innovative solar project. Yakama Nation is set to install pipes underground to contain irrigation flow that waters agricultural lands and fill in the irrigation canals with soil excavated for the pipes. Crews will then build solar panels over the disturbed area. The project provides additional energy, resolves safety concerns related to the irrigation canals and improves water quality.
-Contributor: Jill Conrad
