Fredericks Peebles & Morgan LLP Practice Areas


	Overview Business Transactions Litigation Matters Governmental Affairs Renewable Energy
CALIFORNIA Sacramento Office: 2020 L Street, Suite 250 Sacramento, CA 95811 Phone: 916-441-2700 Fax: 916-441-2067 COLORADO Louisville Office: 1900 Plaza Drive Louisville, CO 80027 Phone: 303-673-9600 Fax: 303-673-9155 MICHIGAN Peshawbestown Office: 2848 Setterbo Road Peshawbestown, MI 49682 Phone: 231-631-8558 MINNESOTA Minneapolis Office: 5401 Gamble Drive Suite 280 St. Louis Park, MN 55416 Phone: 952-681-7925 Fax: 952-681-7945 NEBRASKA Omaha Office: 3610 North 163rd Plaza Omaha, NE 68116 Phone: 402-333-4053 Fax: 402-333-4761 Winnebago Office: 504 Ho-Chunk Plaza, Ste 7 P.O. Box 792 Winnebago, NE 68071 Phone: 402-878-4383 Fax: 402-878-4384 NORTH DAKOTA Mandan Office: 3730 29th Avenue Mandan, ND 58554 Phone: 303-673-9600 Fax: 701-663-5103 SOUTH DAKOTA Sioux Falls Office: 3817 Slaten Park Drive Sioux Falls, SD 57103 Phone: 605-338-9147 Fax: 605-339-1769 Rapid City Office: 2040 W. Main, Suite 110 Rapid City, SD 57702 Phone: 605-791-1515 Fax: 605-791-1915 WASHINGTON, D.C. 1301 Connecticut Ave. NW Suite 450 Washington, D.C. 20036 Phone: 202-450-4887 Fax: 202-450-5106

Renewable Energy

Tribal lands contain enormous potential for projects utilizing renewable energy. In fact, according to the Intertribal Council on Utility Policy, the wind resources on Tribal lands in the Great Plains alone could power over 50 million homes.¹ Developing renewable energy gives Native American Tribes a massive resource and an opportunity for a real and sustainable revenue source, providing economic independence and driving the development of tribal infrastructure necessary for the Tribes to meet the needs of their membership. Fredericks, Peebles & Morgan LLP is on the cutting-edge of providing the necessary expertise and experience to assist Tribes in building the foundation to promote tribal energy, self-sufficiency, economic development, and employment on tribal lands through the creative use of renewable energy and energy efficient technologies.

Energy resources are an exceptionally valuable commodity in the modern world. According to the Energy Information Administration, energy use is expected to increase in both value and demand. Therefore, an economy based on energy production can be expected to increase and grow substantially in the coming decades. Energy production that is based on inexhaustible sources of clean energy such as wind or solar power will be both profitable and a stable source of revenue. This stability will make it possible for Tribes to reinvest the capital proceeds from such development into projects that will allow Tribes to further diversify their economies. Fredericks Peebles & Morgan LLP can assist Tribes by recommending and developing successful models to determine how best to develop natural resources to ensure maximum return without compromising the protection of tribal lands and resources for future generations.

Renewable energy is nearly pollution free, so there is no loss of air or water quality as a result of increasing the amount of energy available to the Tribe. In this respect, renewables are consistent with tribal beliefs, such as living in harmony with nature: no mountains are torn apart to mine coal; no polluting gases are spewed into the atmosphere; and no green house gases are created to increase global warming. The benefits of developing renewables on tribal lands are vast: tribes can increase jobs on the reservation and create a dynamic environment to generate tribal revenue to reinvest in tribal infrastructure such as schools, roads, medical centers, or in other energy projects such as wind turbines or geothermal plants.

¹ http://intertribalcoup.org/mission/index.html#Page:%204