Why US tribes struggle to tap billions in clean energy incentives

investing.com:

By Valerie Volcovici

(Reuters) — The Standing Rock Sioux reservation near the border of North and South Dakota has some of America's most powerful winds, with 20 mile an hour (mph) gusts regularly scouring its vast plains.

The tribe in 2020 launched a plan to harness that energy with what would be the country's first tribal owned utility-scale wind farm – a project meant to supply jobs, money and electricity to a place where those things are in short supply.

The project is at the heart of the Standing Rock Sioux's long-term economic strategy, and revenue from selling power to the regional grid would replace the reservation's casino, which nets around $6 million per year, as the biggest source of revenue.

The bipartisan infrastructure bill and Inflation Reduction Act (IRA) enacted over the last two years have created enormous opportunities to develop wind and solar projects on tribal lands, offering around $14 billion in subsidies and incentives. The IRA also allows tribes and other tax-exempt entities to access the incentives in the form of a direct payment, instead of a typical tax break.

But, unlike the wind blowing across the Great Plains, the project is going nowhere fast.

Tribes cannot access key incentives for larger clean energy projects until they secure an agreement to connect to the regional electrical grid. That is an expensive process that can take years and requires technical expertise that most tribes lack. Other incentives provided under the legislation expire as early as 2024 and 2026.

That could jeopardize a «once in a lifetime opportunity,” according to Cheri Smith, president of the Alliance for Tribal Clean Energy, a nonprofit that is helping tribes develop clean energy.

»All of that money isn't going