GOING BIG
- Project is on track to be one of the largest wind power developments in the country
- Plans to produce up to 2 Gigawatts of emissions-free electricity
- Capacity to generate as much as 60 GW of power on Tribal lands
- Support from powerful organizations and federal government
HOW WE ARE DOING IT
- Established a multi-Tribal power authority to combine our resources
- Hiring professional staff and world-class technical consultants
- Leveraging the new Direct Pay tax credits to maintain Tribal ownership
- Creating jobs and reinvesting surplus revenues into our communities
Milestones
The Initial Summit
December 1, 2012
The first Tribal Summit is held in Washington DC to discuss coming together to jointly develop the Tribes’ wind resources. Cheyenne River, Crow Creek, Flandreau Santee, Oglala, Rosebud and Standing Rock representatives attend, with grant funding support by the Bush Foundation.
The Second Summit
March 1, 2013
The second Tribal Summit is held at Standing Rock Reservation, with a focus on public power authorities and bond financing. Cheyenne River, Crow Creek, Flandreau Santee, Lower Brule, Oglala, Rosebud, Sisseton Wahpeton, Standing Rock and Yankton representatives attend, with grant funding support by the Bush Foundation.
May 1, 2013
Rockefeller Philanthropy Advisors becomes the fiscal sponsor for the Project.
June 1, 2013
Oceti Sakowin Power Project is featured at the Clinton Global Initiative America conference. Cheyenne River, Crow Creek, Oglala, Rosebud, Sisseton Wahpeton and Yankton representatives attend, with grant funding support by the Bush Foundation.
The Third Summit
October 1, 2013
The third Tribal Summit is held at Flandreau Reservation to begin planning in earnest. Cheyenne River, Crow Creek, Flandreau Santee, Oglala, Rosebud, Sisseton Wahpeton, Standing Rock and Yankton representatives attend, as well as industry leaders and state and federal government officials, with grant funding support by the Bush Foundation.
December 1, 2013
Northwest Area Foundation awards the Project a 2-year $500,000 grant.
June 1, 2014
The Project joins the American Public Power Association.
POTUS Visits Standing Rock
June 8, 2014
President Obama makes an historic visit to the Standing Rock Reservation.
August 1, 2014
Bush Foundation awards the Project a $200,000 Community Innovation grant.
The Fourth Summit
September 1, 2014
The fourth Tribal Summit is held at Yankton Indian Reservation with a focus on the public power business model and governance, with training by the American Public Power Association. The Tribes begin negotiations on the Oceti Sakowin Power Authority charter.
October 1, 2014
The Project receives a joint letter of support from Energy Secretary Moniz and Interior Secretary Jewell, as the Tribes continue to negotiate the OSPA charter at a summit at Pine Ridge Reservation.
Charter Complete
November 1, 2014
The White House Council of Native American Affairs Energy Subgroup meets with the Project to discuss federal technical and financial support, as the Tribes complete negotiations on the OSPA charter at a summit at Crow Creek Reservation.
Federal Corporation
February 1, 2015
The OSPA charter is pre-approved by the Department of the Interior staff as a federal corporation under Section 17 of the Indian Reorganization Act.
Cheyenne River and Standing Rock join OSPA
March 1, 2015
Crow Creek and Yankton join OSPA
April 1, 2015
Flandreau Santee joins OSPA
June 1, 2015
Flandreau Santee joins OSPA and the Department of Interior officially certifies the OSPA charter marking its official establishment
Oglala joins OSPA
July 1, 2015
Rosebud Joins OSPA
October 15, 2015
May 1, 2016
OSPA joins the American Wind Energy Association.
June 1, 2016
Bush Foundation awards the Project another $200,000 Community Innovation grant.
August 1, 2016
NREL and WAPA provide technical assistance and wind and transmission data across the reservations to assist OSPA in its planning.
First Interconnection Queue Positions
November 1, 2017
Transmission interconnection queue positions are secured with Southwest Power Pool (SPP) for the first two projects – Pass Creek on Pine Ridge Reservation and Ta’Teh Topah on Cheyenne River Reservation.
Overcoming Challenges
October 1, 2022
After 5 years of waiting for interconnection studies, OSPA had to withdraw its interconnection queue positions for the Pass Creek and Ta’teh Topah wind power projects because SPP allocated a combined $230M in network upgrade and interconnection costs to the projects and required over $48 million in deposits to remain in the queue. OSPA is resilient though and will work hard to bring extra high-voltage (EHV) transmission to western South Dakota and the reservations of our member Tribes.
DOE Advances Northern Plains NIETC to Phase 2
May 8, 2024
In further support of OSPA’s efforts to bring needed EHV transmission to the Tribal reservations to unlock Tribal renewable energy resources, DOE selected OSPA’s recommendation for a National Interest Electric Transmission Corridor (NIETC) designation in the Upper Great Plains to advance to the second phase of the designation process — the only one of ten NIETC designations to specifically addresses Tribal needs and desire to develop clean energy projects.
Watch the video
News
OSPA Participated in the FERC Workshop on Generator InterconnectionNovember 15, 2024 - 9:00 amOn September 11, 2024, OSPA discussed the challenges Tribal clean energy projects face interconnecting to the national power grid and highlighting solutions to streamline interconnection and bring EHV transmission to Tribal lands.
DOE Advances Northern Plains NIETC to Phase 2May 8, 2024 - 10:00 amDOE is advancing OSPA’s recommendation for the Northern Plains NIETC to support bringing EHV transmission to the Tribal reservations and enabling Tribal clean energy projects.
Focus on SPP Interconnection IssuesSeptember 8, 2023 - 12:00 pmAfter talking with the OSPA team on NPR Planet Money, Dan Charles continued to investigate the challenges renewable energy projects face in connecting to the National Grid via the Southwest Power Pool.