The Hopi tribe will receive $20 million from the federal government as part of a grant that will help deliver reliable electricity to as many as 900 homes that now lack power.The tribe is one of 34 recipients of the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency’s Climate Pollution Reduction Grants and one of two in Arizona. The Salt River Pima-Maricopa Indian Community will receive nearly $10 million for its “Go Green Initiative,” which will fund clean energy initiatives.EPA Administrator Michael S. Regan and Interior Secretary Deb Haaland talked about the grants during a news conference Thursday outside Flagstaff. Haaland said the program will showcase “the resiliency of Native people and demonstrate the critical need to get resources to tribal nations so they can make decisions for their communities.”Craig Andrews, vice chairman of the Hopi Tribe, said he was thrilled to learn his tribe would be receiving over $20 million to support renewable, cost-effective electricity.”I was just so blown away and I was like ‘Oh my God!’ I am just so happy getting the power out to our residents that are suffering because they want the same amenities as you all in town (have),” he said at the news conference.The Hopi Utilities Corporation was selected by the U.S. EPA to receive a share of the $300 million as part of the Biden-Harris administration’s Investing in America agenda.The EPA reviewed 110 applications requesting over $1.3 billion in funding. The funding will support the implementation of greenhouse gas reduction strategies identified by tribal and territorial communities.Collectively, the projects proposed by the selected applicants are expected to reduce greenhouse gas emissions by over 7 million metric tons of carbon dioxide by 2050 — equivalent to the annual electricity usage of nearly 1.4 million homes, according to the EPA.”We know that tribal communities often face unique climate challenges and we also know that many of these communities never received their fair of tackling these challenges,” said Regan. “The Hopi tribes knows firsthand the impact of energy inequality and those impacts on their community.”Electrifying tribes:Biden administration sends Arizona Indigenous nonprofit $8M to bring power to 300 tribal homesElectrifying 900 Hopi homesAbout 35% of Hopi households do not have access to electricity and have to deal with frequent outages. The Hopi Coal to Solar Transitionproject, proposed by the Hopi Utilities Corporation should be completed by 2026-2027 and will provide renewable electricity to the Hopi Reservation.Combined with other federal investments, the project will supply clean and reliable electricity to homes on the reservation, including electrifying nearly 900 homes that now lack electricity. The project is also intended to help improve air quality and boost economic development and workforce training, according to the EPA.”Whenever we get brownouts or power outages there goes our groceries,” said Andrews. “So we have to make another trip to Winslow, which is 65 miles away … so stocking up possibly for the month … so when it happens, and it happens, all that meat or whatever needs to be refrigerated all has to be thrown out. So this was our concern.”Turning on a radio, television, or even owning an operating refrigerator are the most basic amenities that some Hopi tribal members live without, said Andrews.”The refrigerators that they have are currently running on generators,” said Andrews. “Generators, as you may know, will at some point in time it will run the term of its life and go out, and they will have to purchase a new one.”Andrews said the funding will support an existing solar power project, allowing the tribe to extend 12 miles of power lines to Hotevilla and ensuring back …
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