Sokaogon Chippewa Community (SCC) Solar Project

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Located in Nashville, Wisconsin, the 4,904-acre Mole Lake Indian Reservation is home to 500 tribal members of the Sokaogon Chippewa Community (SCC). An additional 1,000 members live off the Reservation. To strengthen the tribe’s energy independence and promote the use of impact-free sustainable technologies, the Department of Energy awarded the community with a tribal clean energy initiative grant. The funds were intended to help plan and install a community-wide solar system estimated to produce 606 kilowatts (kW) of carbon-free clean energy, which would power 17 tribal buildings and three residential homes. In 2016, the tribe collaborated with SunVest Solar in subcontracting as the investor to oversee the use of tax credits and other financial obligations not covered under D.O.E. funding. SunVest is a current Electric to install solar photovoltaic panels at selected facilities, approximately 12 to 15 tribal buildings and potentially certain tribal residential units in Forest County, Wisconsin. The U.S. Department of Energy and the Department of Housing and Urban Development awarded SunVest Solar with a $1.1 million grant to cover the installation, plus training and the creation of job opportunities for tribal members. Project installations ranged in size from 5.3 kW to 105.7 kW, including a mix of aluminum rooftop mounting systems and ground mount aluminum racking systems. While preliminary estimates indicated offsets of energy consumption ranging from 3.2 percent to 103 percent, they were calculated to be less after one year. This solar project allows the SCC to lower its carbon footprint, and also its environmental footprint associated with other emissions from coal-fired power plants, especially SO2 and mercury. The project services 12-15 of 33 more substantial energy-using buildings and nearly seven percent of the total energy load on the Reservation, reducing greenhouse gas emissions by 542 metric tons per year.

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