ETIPP assisted in analyzing the feasibility of energy options to move the city toward its goal of increasing local generation. This project aimed to help the city understand how to improve the reliability of its electric grid, assess the benefits and challenges of energy generation and storage options, and set realistic expectations for feasible solutions.

ETIPP assistance to the Makah Tribe assessed opportunities and challenges to integrate local energy resources for Tribal use and increase the Tribe’s energy sovereignty. The project enabled deeper community engagement by helping Makah Tribe staff communicate energy options to community members and integrate their priorities, perspectives, and knowledge into the energy planning process.

The Nooksack Tribe sits at the end of power distribution lines in Deming, Washington, where it experiences frequent winter power outages that require emergency shelters. The community engaged in strategic energy planning to explore local energy generation, storage, building energy efficiency, and transportation technologies, and planned to use the results to prioritize energy projects, combat prolonged power outages, and pursue funding to further energy projects.

A single road provides the access to the Port Gamble S’Klallam Tribe in Northwest Washington, where storms leave the community without power or access to emergency services. The Tribe conducted energy planning through ETIPP, including establishing a baseline for energy use, assessing its energy resources, setting energy goals, identifying energy projects, and increasing the capacity of its staff to handle energy needs.

The Tribe partnered with ETIPP to explore transmission upgrades, including regional utility coordination, new power system model development, and transmission scenario and load sequencing analyses. The Tribe furthered this strategic energy planning to support economic opportunities and wildfire preparedness.

The Tribe established Nimiipuu Energy in 2022, a Tribe-to-Tribe utility cooperative that has advanced local energy generation and storage technologies to address Tribal energy sovereignty and economic and ecological priorities. With support from Avista Utilities, the Nez Perce Tribe and Nimiipuu Energy further addressed these priorities by engaging ETIPP in technical assistance and supporting plans for distributed energy projects, transmission, and siting that can build to effective MW-scale local energy generation development.

Due to its high elevation, the port depends on electricity to power a particular boat slip and crane that raises and lowers boats to and from the dock. Storms can result in power outages at the port, halting operations and leaving fishermen with no safe way to return to shore. Through ETIPP, the port completed an initial baseline study of the dock’s energy consumption patterns and developed a strategic energy plan informed by the port’s economic development plans. Other ETIPP analysis included a design study for backup power options, evaluating and addressing safety issues, performing an efficiency and vessel electrification study, and exploring desalination as an alternative source of water.

The Swinomish Tribe, a coastal, islanded, and federally recognized Tribe occupying the Swinomish Reservation in northwestern Washington, participated in strategic energy planning through ETIPP to develop actionable steps toward their energy goals, engage and educate the community, improve emergency preparedness, and create workforce development opportunities. Partnership with ETIPP continued with a siting and feasibility study of local generation and energy storage technologies, an evaluation of potential fishing vessel electrification opportunities, and assessment of energy efficiency and savings for Tribal community members to reduce energy costs and improve the reliability and security of their energy system.

As the Shoalwater Bay Indian Tribe prepares to relocate emergency service facilities, administrative offices, and housing away from a tsunami inundation zone to higher ground, they are simultaneously working to develop an energy plan that mitigates hazards and supports long-term growth. The Tribe engaged in ETIPP strategic energy planning to help assess risk to current and future energy assets, explore local generation and storage potential, and engage community members to improve the reliability and security of their energy system.

Strengthening the reliability of the local energy-distribution system and reducing energy costs are priorities for the Yakama Nation. By engaging in strategic energy planning through ETIPP, the Tribes aimed to evaluate local, cost-effective options to upgrade their energy infrastructure and build a roadmap to accelerate progress toward improving their energy system’s affordability, reliability, and security.

Hood River County, located in the heart of the Columbia River Gorge National Scenic Area, has recently experienced severe summer heat domes and wildfire risk, leading to power outages and driving up energy costs. ETIPP supported Hood River’s goal of energy reliability and affordability through an economic impact analysis for various power disruption scenarios, a microgrid feasibility study, and a loan-fund evaluation for pursuit of the goals of their energy plan.