Homegrown Stories features stories across the west of rural communities shifting towards renewable sources for the sake of energy sovereignty, the environment and public health. Read and watch the stories below by clicking on the image to learn more about these efforts.
People living on Turtle Mountain pay two to three times the average amount per kilowatt-hour for energy than people on the other side of the reservation border. In the past, rural electrical co-ops have not invited Indigenous people into conversations about joining and being a part of the co-op movement. As the facilities manager, Wes has fine tuned the geo-thermal energy that the school was built on along with a 600w wind turbine to be one of the most sustainable colleges in the nation. Moving forward, Wes sees opportunity to increase Tribal Sovereignty through the benefits of renewable energy.
On the outside of the main town of Porcupine, KILI Radio Station sits on top of a hill with scattered sagebrush and prairie grass. The station is surrounded by solar panels both on the hillside and attached to the building, and the entrance opens to a wind turbine. The combination of these renewable energy sources powers KILI Radio Station entirely. Over its history, the station had seen power outages, lack of funding, and had moments where they struggled to stay on the air. Switching to renewable energy has allowed the station to remain on the air as a reliable source of information for the community.
In the past, solar energy has felt out of reach for many people. The creation of solar co-ops has provided a way for communities to join together to get group discounts, making solar more affordable and accessible.
Tom Abe saw the Fort Berthold Reservation as the perfect place to pioneer new technologies like microgrids and electric storage to fight climate change, create jobs, and emerge as an energy independent community.