Grid Resilience Formula Grants program: supporting the resilience of Indian tribal power grids

The Bipartisan Infrastructure Act's Grid Resilience Formula Grants Program will have the Department of Energy award grants to states, including U.S. territories, and Indian tribes to improve the resilience of their electric grids.

By: María Ramírez

The Grid Resilience Formula Grants program is administered by the Building a Better Grid Initiative. The project is designed to strengthen and modernize the U.S. electric grid to mitigate the risks of wildfires, extreme weather, and other natural disasters exacerbated by the climate crisis.

Tribes can use grant funds to implement various resiliency measures, including equipment hardening or undergrounding, vegetation management, fire prevention systems, and advanced modeling technologies.

In its section 40101(d), the grant program allows states and Indian tribes to allocate funds to "eligible entities." In addition to providing the unique opportunity to enhance the capabilities of states, tribes, and their communities to address current and future resiliency needs. Also within this section is the provision for DOE to allocate funds annually through a formula that includes parameters such as population, land area, and historical precedent of having experienced disasters.

The program will distribute up to $2.3 billion over five years. Priority will be given to projects that generate the most outstanding community benefit by providing clean, affordable, and reliable energy to everyone, anywhere, anytime.

Applications for the program are due March 31, 2023, and may be submitted at any time, and depending on application submissions, grants may be awarded before the deadline.

Because the program is new, DOE provided a question and answer session intending to provide all the information to applicants so that they can benefit from the clarifications made and complete their applications.

On February 9, DOE's Office of Grid Deployment hosted a webinar tailored for tribal entities to learn about the Grid Resilience Formula Grant program.

During the webinar, applicants learned topics essential to understanding the program and each aspect of formulating their applications without any informational loops. Some of the issues were as follows:

- How much grant funding is available to Tribes over five years?

- How to apply for the grant funds allocated to your Tribe.

- Types of eligible investments.

- Grant requirements and cost matching.

This non-competitive grant program awarded approximately $95 million to Tribal entities in 2022, and $86 million is expected to be awarded to Tribes and States this year.

21st-century technology solutions to combat 21stcentury threats

The San Pasqual Preserve features arid valleys and a mountainous landscape about 50 miles from the Pacific coast in northern San Diego County. The area enjoys abundant sunshine throughout the year.

Thanks to the area's varied natural resources, the San Pasqual Band of Mission Indians tribe adopted an environmentally friendly approach, working the land and harnessing the climate to support the community's energy sovereignty and security. "As a tribe, we want to be energy independent. That means harnessing our natural resources, not oil or coal, but sunlight," explained John Flores, San Pasqual's Environmental Director and Water Steward.

The tribe undertook a hybrid microgrid of solar, storage, and liquid propane to increase the reservation's energy reliability and resiliency. The microgrid will maintain critical building operations during emergencies and maintain uninterrupted power supply to five essential tribal government facilities. These buildings include the administration, housing, security facilities, fire department, education, preschool buildings, and wastewater treatment plant.

Weather threats have created emergencies that threaten the communities' overall grid, so securing a reliable power source is essential. The aftermath of the climate crisis exposed the increased risk and vulnerability of the local energy system. "Because we are in a rural area of San Diego County, resilience is key. Everyone has heard about the terrible California wildfires. Our area is no exception," explained Flores.

The Paradise/Cedar fire in 2003 severely affected the San Pasqual area. More than 90% of the reserve was burned to the ground, homes and buildings were destroyed, and electricity and essential community services were significantly lost.

The area faces a series of changing situations aggravated by the risk of forest fires, such as rising temperatures and worsening drought in the local vegetation, all deteriorating due to climate change.

Likewise, the reserve faces other natural threats, such as extreme heat, strong winds, earthquakes, and public safety power outages by the local power company.

The microgrid became the watershed because it offers an economically and logistically viable option for energy resilience.

San Pasqual undertook a series of strategic energy planning steps starting in 2015. The measures include establishing a Tribal

Energy and Resiliency Plan that will support the commitment to meeting the tribe's energy and resiliency goals.

This microgrid is envisioned as a modern solution to today's energy problems. It also overrides standard backup power options, such as a diesel generator. "We have 21st-century problems like forest fires and climate change. Why would we use 20th century technology to solve 21st-century problems?" asked Flores.

In addition to substantially reducing long-term disruptions to essential tribal services due to grid outages, the microgrid is expected to provide numerous benefits to the tribe, such as producing approximately 6.5 gigawatt-hours of renewable electricity and reducing energy costs by roughly $1.13 million over the life of the system.

The U.S. Department of Energy co-funded the microgrid project. This program was one of three San Pasqual designs competitively selected for DOE Office of Indian Energy grants. They include a community-scale solar photovoltaic project and the installation of 40 grid-connected solar electric systems for low-income families.

The environmental director explained that the Bureau of Indian Energy has been instrumental in advancing the tribe's energy resiliency goals. The microgrid design will also serve as a replicable model to address the energy challenges faced by many tribes as climate change creates more significant threats to the security and reliability of the electricity supply.

"If we all put our little pieces of the puzzle in, we can solve this problem together. No one person will have all the answers to complete the puzzle alone. It's something we all have to do together. Don't lose sight of the prize, which is maintaining the power supply," Flores concluded.

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