Michigan Tribes Receive $38M+ in Grants for Emission Reduction
TL/DR –
Four tribes in Michigan are receiving more than $38 million in federal grants to reduce greenhouse gas emissions and transition towards renewable energy. The Bay Mills Indian Community is set to receive the largest grant, more than $17 million, to install a solar farm and battery storage, with the energy produced expected to offset the tribe’s entire energy consumption. Other tribes will use the funding for home energy efficiency, electric vehicle charging stations, and other renewable energy projects, with the grants part of a $300 million nationwide initiative by the EPA aimed at reducing greenhouse gas pollution by more than 7 million metric tons of carbon dioxide by 2050.
Federal Grants for Greenhouse Gas Reduction Awarded to Michigan Tribes
Four Michigan tribes are set to receive federal grants amounting to over $38 million to aid in the reduction of greenhouse gas emissions.
The largest grant is designated for a tribe in eastern Michigan’s Upper Peninsula, according to the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency’s Region 5 administrator Debra Shore.
Shore disclosed, “The Bay Mills Indian Community will receive more than $17 million for a solar farm and battery storage installation.”
The grant encompasses funding for worker training programs. Whitney Gravelle, President of the Executive Council of the Bay Mills tribe, stressed, “We believe in training and hiring locally.”
Gravelle also voiced the tribe’s opposition to the Enbridge Line 5 dual pipelines and their commitment to diversify their energy supply towards renewable energy.
“The solar array’s energy production will wholly offset the energy consumption of the Bay Mills Indian Community, making our tribal nation 100% renewable,” stated Gravelle.
The Lac Vieux Desert Band of Lake Superior Chippewa in western Upper Peninsula will secure $15 million for home energy efficiency, targeting 145 HUD-regulated tribal low-income housing units and two commercial buildings.
The Nottawaseppi Huron Band of Potawatomi will receive $1.2 million to convert commercial vehicles to electric, install charging stations and improve lighting in greenhouses.
The Pokagon Band of Potawatomi heads a coalition set to receive $5 million for renewable energy projects.
The EPA announced $300 million in climate pollution reduction grants for tribes and U.S. territories, funded by the Inflation Reduction Act. The overall reduction of greenhouse gas pollution from these projects would equal the carbon dioxide emitted from nearly 1.4 million homes’ electricity usage for a year by 2050, according to the Biden Administration.
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