Financial Relief for Tribes: Renewable Energy and Grid Resilience Funding.
This Act simplifies access for Indian Tribes to federal loans and grants for energy projects, including renewables and electric grid modernization. A major change eliminates the requirement for Tribes to provide matching funds (cost-sharing) when applying for grants aimed at enhancing grid resilience. Furthermore, the Department of Energy can now fund technical assessments for loan applications, reducing initial costs for Tribal communities.
Key points
Tribes are no longer required to provide matching funds (cost-sharing) for federal grants aimed at strengthening local electric grids against outages.
The Department of Energy can cover the costs of technical and financial assessments (up to $500,000) related to Tribal energy loan applications.
The changes aim to boost energy independence and improve the reliability of electricity supply in Native American communities.
Introduced
Additional Information
Print number: 119_S_1181
Sponsor: Sen. Schatz, Brian [D-HI]
Process start date: 2025-03-27