The Leech Lake Band of Ojibwe owns and operates the energy production of five scattered Community Solar for Community Action (CS4CA) arrays. Solar power is sold to utilities serving the Reservation. Each array’s designated meter “owner” tracks solar energy generation throughout the year and provides the revenue realized to the Leech Lake Energy Assistance Program (LL EAP), the local LIHEAP service provider.
- LL EAP identifies LIHEAP qualified households that demonstrate a need to receive a one-time maximum $300 annual solar energy assistance benefit
- Annual solar production value is $25,000 per year, providing a solar energy assistance benefit to an additional 80 tribal families for up to 25 years.
- This project was made possible through the efforts of the Rural Renewable Energy Alliance (RREAL), a nonprofit organization dedicated to making solar energy accessible to communities of all income levels.
- This and other CS4CA pilots offer measurable outcomes to attract public/private impact investments funding innovations (Pay for Success or outcomes-based contracting).