News Release Archive

Reclamation Contracts with the National Renewable Energy Laboratory to Advance Tribal Clean Energy Projects

Media Contact: Rose Davis, 702-293-8421, jdavis@usbr.gov

For Release: October 15, 2014

Boulder City, Nev. — The Bureau of Reclamation’s Lower Colorado Region entered into an agreement with the Energy Department’s (DOE) National Renewable Energy Laboratory (NREL) to provide technical assistance to advance Tribal clean energy planning and development. The agreement is part of the commitments made by the Department of the Interior (DOI) in the July 2013 Technical Work Group Agreement related to Navajo Generating Station (NGS).

“The award of this agreement is another action that Reclamation is taking to advance the development of clean energy to benefit Tribal Nations affected by NGS operations. Reclamation continues to work diligently to support this effort,” said David Palumbo, Deputy Regional Director for the Bureau of Reclamation’s Lower Colorado Region. This component of NREL’s technical assistance contract is valued at just over $106,000.

This work includes identifying a portfolio of potential projects and providing technical assistance to further some of those projects that have a high likelihood of being implemented within the next five years. This initiative will also identify screening and prioritization criteria to be used to categorize potential clean energy projects. The work is being coordinated with several agencies, including the DOE Tribal Energy Program, DOI Bureau of Indian Affairs and the Office of Indian Energy and Economic Development.

NREL is also providing technical assistance to Reclamation in achieving long-term goals identified in a Joint Federal Agency Statement issued on January 4, 2013, by DOI, DOE and the EPA. These goals are to produce “clean, affordable and reliable power, affordable and sustainable water supplies, and sustainable economic development, while minimizing negative impacts on those who currently obtain significant benefits from NGS, including tribal nations.”

“NREL has been a great partner and Reclamation appreciates their expertise as we work to meet future energy related demands and requirements, including compliance with EPA rules affecting carbon emissions at the NGS,” added Deputy Regional Director Palumbo.

NGS is a 2,250-megawatt, coal-fired power plant located just outside Page, Arizona, on the Navajo Reservation. Operated by the Salt River Project, other participants in NGS include the United States, Arizona Public Service Company, Los Angeles Department of Water and Power, Tucson Electric Power and Nevada Energy. The United States’ share of NGS energy provides power to the Central Arizona Water Conservation District to deliver Colorado River water through the Central Arizona Project.

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