As Part of its Climate Action Plan, Eastern Band of Cherokee Indians to Deploy Solar Microgrid and EVs with EPA Grant

As part of its action plan, the tribe established a resolution calling for 50% of new fleet purchases to be electric or hybrid vehicles. It set a goal of installing 20 EV charging stations across EBCI lands and tribal buildings, certifying maintenance staff to maintain EVs and hybrid vehicles and look at construction projects that maximize the use of energy efficiency and renewables, according to the plan.

An important part of the effort has focused on listening to community members and tribal government to identify strategies for addressing climate change. The plan’s authors translated “climate change” into a Cherokee phrase with cultural value and importance – E-lo-hi-a(d)-ste-da-li-sgv-i. They wanted to use language that better reflects and honors the tribe’s relationship to the land.

“We echo the recent Fifth National Climate Assessment that ‘self-determination is key to implementing effective resilience strategies that meet the needs of Indigenous communities’” the plan said.

Increasing federal incentives for tribal projects – for now

The EPA grant is one of a growing number of incentives offered to Native American tribes by the federal government. For example, the Department of Energy’s Loan Programs Office in September closed on its first tribal loan guarantee – up to $72.8 million for a solar plus long-duration energy storage microgrid – paving the way for increased economic development for a California tribe, the Viejas (Baron Long) Group of Capitan Grande Band of Mission Indians of the Viejas Reservation near Alpine, California.

But the future of such funding is unclear, given that Donald Trump, as president-elect, has said he’ll cut or eliminate funding to clean energy programs.

The EPA grant for the Eastern Band of Cherokee Indians – authorized through the Inflation Reduction Act – will fund a solar microgrid at the Cherokee Boys Club school bus depot, the installation of solar on tribal buildings and EV charging infrastructure in the town of Cherokee, according to a description of the EPA grant.  The project is expected to help the tribe reach its climate goals and achieve resilience, sustainability and economic development.

Electric school buses, solar microgrid, solar and charging stations 

According to the EPA, the tribe will use the grant money to deploy:

• 15 electric school buses and one Class 8 heavy-duty electric truck.
• A 400-kW solar microgrid and 80-kW diesel energy storage system to help power eight fast charging stations to support the electric school bus fleet.
• A 52-kW solar array on the Tribal Council House Complex and a 121-kW solar array on the New Kituwah Academy rooftop.
• 20 publicly accessible Level 2 EV public charging stations.

The project will boost energy affordability and equity by giving community members access to clean, affordable energy options, said the EPA.

The microgrid will be located at the Cherokee Boys Club bus depot because the club contracts with the school district and provides all the transportation services for moving kids to and from school, said Kelly Gloger, co-founder of the Critical Services Microgrid Group, a coalition of professionals and students that promotes clean distributed energy. The coalition helped the tribe apply for the grant.

Off-grid microgrid allows for flexibility

The microgrid will be off-grid so the tribe doesn’t have to wait to interconnect the project with the utility, Duke Energy, Gloger said. The tribe will also have more flexibility in how it uses the microgrid without having to meet Duke’s interconnection policies.

Right now, the Cherokee Boys Club has a fleet of 21 buses, six of which are electric, Gloger said. The additional 15 electric buses are expected to begin arriving in early 2025. They are second generation electric buses from Thomas Built Buses and each one has 235 kWh of batteries.

Electric school buses can be mobile microgrids 

It’s possible the electric buses, when not transporting children – especially during the summer – could serve as mobile microgrids that provide power to buildings if the buildings are equipped to receive power, said Gloger.

One way to achieve this would be to install distribution lines between the island that houses the batteries and the buildings that would be served, he said. This would involve installing a transfer switch between the utility and the buildings so the buildings can be disconnected from the grid when they’re receiving battery power. While this idea wasn’t included in the grant application, it’s possible it could be implemented.

“Those buses, obviously being on wheels and having big batteries, they could go in an emergency situation like we just had with Hurricane Helene and could move to community centers or fire stations and provide power instantaneously because they are like big generators,” he said.

At some point, the buses could have bidirectional chargers and could charge each other, Gloger said.

Community members say town of Cherokee impacted by climate change

 This project reflects the Cherokee community’s desire to take action on climate change. According to the Climate Action Plan, eight of 10 tribal community members believe that Cherokee, N.C., is now experiencing the effects of climate change, with the top threats being wildfires, extreme heat and flooding. More than 75% of community members surveyed said their community isn’t prepared for climate change.

“The majority of community members believe that now is the time to take strong action on climate change,” said the plan.

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