Winnebago Tribe sees power from solar energy as boost to sovereignty

[Omaha Steve]

Robert Byrnes, the sustainability coordinator for Ho-Chunk Inc., the Winnebago Tribe’s economic development corporation, inspect newly installed solar panels on the Winnebago Reservation in Nebraska in November 2017. Photo: Ho-Chunk Inc.

Posted: Wednesday, March 7, 2018

'We are a community very much about sustainability'
Nearly 1,000 solar panels installed on Winnebago Reservation
By Kevin Abourezk
@Kevin_Abourezk

WINNEBAGO, Nebraska – For the Winnebago Tribe and its people, the battle for sovereignty is taking place in a field near a car dealership and on roofs across their reservation.

It’s a battle for energy independence that can best be seen in the black solar panels that the tribe has installed on rooftops and in fields.

Since 2008, the tribe has installed nearly 1,000 solar panels. They’ve put them on rooftops, until space became a problem, and recently built a solar farm in a field on the northern edge of the tribe’s reservation.

“Our rooftops are jam-packed,” said Robert Byrnes, owner of Nebraska Renewable Energy Systems, who serves as sustainability coordinator for the tribe’s economic development corporation, Ho-Chunk Inc.

FULL story: https://www.indianz.com/News/2018/03/07/winnebago-tribe-sees-power-from-solar-en.asp

[malaise]

1. So they're ignoring Rick Perry then?

[Omaha Steve]

2. LOL