Ken Ahmann - Colusa Indian Energy says:
One of the biggest sources of funding Tribes should be aware of today is still the IRA, which offers up to 70% of the total project’s cost back in a direct payment from the IRS post-commissioning. We partner with KPMG to ensure that these complex requirements are met for every project we develop.
New Markets Tax Credits are still available to help offset up to 30% of the capital needed on the front end of clean energy projects, via guaranteed forgivable loans. We partner with Travois on this one, but there are many independent CDE’s with expertise in this field. This free mapping tool will tell you whether your Tribe’s land qualifies for NMTC.
To bridge these tax incentives, there are many grants available to Tribes. Look into the DOE’s Office of Indian Energy, USDA, EPA, DOI, CEC, among other agencies offering massive funding opportunities in this space.
Finally, the DOE Loan Programs Office has a $20BN fund available for Tribal energy projects and they are lending this money at Treasury + ⅜%, which is literally the cheapest money on earth. This one is a little tricky, considering they are targeting minimum $100M projects and it costs over $1M just for the DOE LPO to complete their due diligence, before making a decision to fund a project.
Also view CoP energy resources:
This guide for communities looking to plan or build clean energy projects provides an overview of many federal programs that offer funding or advice to support these types of projects.