The Colville Reservation in northern Washington.
The Confederate Tribes of the Colville Reservation And Open Access Technology International (OATI) has announced a partnership to advance tribal energy sovereignty and resilience through the design and deployment of multiple solar and storage microgrids on the northern Washington reservation.
The program represents an important step toward improving reliability, reducing outages and providing long-term energy independence for the Colville Tribes, which are governed by four legislative districts: Omak, Nespelem, Keller and Inchelium. The initiative is supported by federal and state grants and addresses vulnerabilities such as winter storm disruptions and wildfire risks.
The Colville Tribes microgrid program is rooted in the principle of energy sovereignty: the right of tribes to produce, supply and manage energy on their own lands. Because the Colville Reservation is served by multiple utilities offering varying levels of service, the ability to generate electricity on your own provides resiliency and reliability for vulnerable communities and ensures that critical services – including healthcare, commercial and housing – remain powered during power outages. Colville Tribes can also deploy microgrids to provide additional grid benefits to local utilities and/or enter energy markets as they evolve and grow.
“Since the Colville Reservation is in a remote location and subject to natural events such as winter storms and fires, it has always been difficult for us to maintain a reliable power supply,” said Jarred-Michael Erickson, chairman of the Confederated Tribes of the Colville Reservation. “Our hope is that this microgrid technology will not only keep our lights on, but also position us for new economic opportunities.”
OATI provides professional project design and development services, hardware and its advanced GridMind platform to support the microgrids through resource management and market integration.
Planned locations include:
- Nespelem HQ Campus (Lucy F. Covington Government Center): Rooftop solar, battery energy storage, EV charging and microgrid controls, with an expansion to create a full campus resiliency hub.
- 3.9 MWH BESS
- 300-600 kW PV solar energy (roof and carport)
- <2 MW generator
- Total site demand – 1.2 MW (government center plus outbuildings)
- Paschal Sherman Indian School (PSIS) Community: Microgrid Design to Support Education and Community Resilience.
- <3.9 MWH BESS
- 400-600 kW PV solar (ground mounted)
- Additional solar energy on the roof of 100 kW
- 1.5 MW generator
- Total site demand – 0.5 MW with major expansion planned
- Keller and Inchelium Districts: Additional distributed energy resources and microgrid infrastructure for local resilience.
- 3.9 MWH BESS
- 400-600 kW PV solar (ground mounted)
- Provisions for future generator
- Total demand for core sites – 0.3 MW
- Expandable to 1.7 MW with utility coordination and additional resources
Future expansions will include integration with gaming operations and potential data centers, supported by tribally owned utility and telecom infrastructure.
“OATI is proud to support the Colville Tribes in creating a resilient and sovereign energy future,” said Sasan Mokhtari, president and CEO of OATI. “We are seeing tremendous interest from tribal communities in pursuing energy sovereignty. Microgrids are more than a backup power supply: they empower communities to shape their own energy destiny.”
News item from OATI
