Indian tribes are disproportionately hard hit by the effects of global warming. But the prospect of generating clean energy from renewable resources presents tribes with a once-in-a-lifetime opportunity to create jobs and protect natural and cultural resources.

With 95 million acres of land under tribal management and centuries of experience conserving the natural world, Indian tribes can, on their own terms, help provide for their own energy needs and generate clean power for a new energy future in Indian country.

In the Southwest, projects to harness the sun’s and wind’s energy are the most promising, according to a new report from the National Tribal Environmental Council, Native American Rights Fund, Intertribal Council on Utility Policy and National Wildlife Federation.

The report maps the possibilities for renewable energy in Indian country and details case studies of clean energy and energy efficiency/weatherization.

For example, tribal lands have the potential to produce 17.6 trillion kilowatt hours of electricity a year from solar power, about 4.5 times the total amount of electricity generated in the United States in 2004.

In Arizona, the report maps clean-energy potential on tribal lands to generate power from solar, wind, geothermal and biomass (burning plant matter or animal waste to generate power). Several technologies are available that will simultaneously allow tribes to develop clean energy, create jobs and protect resources.

There are 1.6 million acres of Hopi tribal lands in northern Arizona, where clean-energy potential is focused on four wind projects:

• The Sunshine Wind Park, 35 miles east of Flagstaff, is being developed with a goal of providing 60 megawatts, which would supply 14,000 homes.

• Clear Creek Ranch, 17 miles south of Winslow, is the primary site for a feasibility study to develop a utility-scale wind farm, where wind data are being collected.

• Hart Ranch, 17 miles east of Flagstaff, is an alternative utility-scale wind farm if Clear Creek doesn’t pan out.

• On the main Hopi Reservation, 8 miles west of Hotevilla village, is the Hotevilla meteorological-tower project.

These projects are a collaboration among many groups, including Northern Arizona University, Arizona State University, the Arizona Wind Working Group and the Hopi Tribe.

Two towers for collecting data for a wind-feasibility study were completed in 2009, and the Hopi Clean Air Partnership Project (now the Renewable Energy Office) is optimistic that it is on the right path to developing wind energy on Hopi lands. But the projects will need the support of the local people and the local government.

As the Hopi Tribe updates its strategic plan for renewable energy, priority areas include more studies for developing solar projects, weatherization and energy efficiency, and possibly creating an Electrical Utility Authority.

A pilot weatherization project is under way, with energy audits and weatherization happening in 20 homes.

The Renewable Energy Office also provided technical assistance to the Tewa Village for using solar energy with a propane-backup generator for a new administration building. This is the first large solar project for the Hopi villages.

The agency will work with other tribal programs to understand and develop climate-change solutions such as generating clean wind power for pumping water to manage livestock.

As Native people, we need to get back to being stewards of our lands and wisely use the resources provided to us by the Earth, wind and sun.

Another Arizona tribe, the Hualapai, depends on tourism at its popular Grand Canyon West reservation. But strained infrastructure and water resources have long limited the tribe’s capacity for expanding necessary tourism facilities.

The tribe used Department of Energy funds to build two photovoltaic arrays and pump houses to power its 13-mile water pipeline with solar energy. The Hualapai Tribe currently sees about 150,000 visitors annually and projects a tenfold increase once the utility infrastructure is complete.

Eighty miles west of Flagstaff, the Navajo Nation is developing the Big Boquillas Wind Project, with construction of 48 turbines capable of generating 85 megawatts. It is scheduled to begin this December.

The Navajos also have meteorological towers up in Cameron and are considering another wind site and a possible solar-utility project in the Four Corners area.

To begin to address the challenges to funding projects and moving power through transmission lines across reservations and onto the grid, the energy report recommends that tribes gain the same access to financial and technical resources that state and local governments have.

State incentives for renewable-energy development vary from state to state and require tribes to create a state-chartered organization. But tribal governments are wary of doing so because they would relinquish sovereign immunity and subject themselves to state law and reporting requirements.

As tax-exempt entities, tribes aren’t eligible to claim a federal production-tax credit for renewable-energy projects. However, legislation pending in Congress (Sen. Tim Johnson’s Senate Bill 802 and Rep. Raúl Grijalva’s “Fair Credit Act” House Resolution 29820) would allow tribes to transfer their share of the tax credit to private entities financing projects in a joint venture.

In Arizona and from coast to coast, the vast potential on tribal lands to generate clean energy from renewable resources means that Indian tribes can help provide global-warming solutions and put America on the path to energy independence.

To be successful, energy projects must be done with respect for tribal sovereignty and for cultural and biological resources. It must be compatible with each tribe’s goals.

We’re ready to get to work on clean energy in Indian country.