The Washoe Tribe of Nevada and California has just eight generators for a community of 300 people
The grant is part of President Joe Biden’s Bipartisan Infrastructure Law, which committed $3.46 billion toward grid resiliency projects nationwide. Linda Dufurrena Shutterstock.com
It’s safe to say the Washoe Tribe of Nevada and California is remotely situated. And when normal electricity goes down for this community of 300 people, times can get rough, with just eight generators available.
A recently awarded federal grant could help to change this.
Capital & Main published a piece on Dec. 4 recounting how the tribe was awarded a $1.3 million grant in August through a U.S. Department of Energy program known as Grid Resilience State and Tribal Formula Grants program. The funds will allow the tribe to begin hardening its electrical grid against extreme weather events.
“The biggest challenge we face is outages, but that doesn’t mean the other threats don’t exist,” Ken Quiner, the emergency manager for the tribe told Capital & Main. “They’re all tied together.”
The funds are both a reminder of the disparities that can exist in society—and that things can be done to close gaps.
Read the full article, “Federal Infrastructure Dollars to Upgrade Fragile Indian Country Power Grid,” at CapitalAndMain.com.
