Transcript:
In Wisconsin, the Menominee Nation is installing solar panels and battery systems at the homes of tribal elders.
Pyawasay: “Here on the reservation … with any major storms, we continuously lose power. And sometimes it’ll be for days, sometimes it’ll be for weeks, so we wanted to make sure that our elders were taken care of.”
That’s tribal utility director Darryl Pyawasay. The tribe is partnering with solar companies and nonprofit funders on the Elder Solar Program.
So far, he says they’ve installed solar and battery systems at the homes of about a dozen elders who need electricity to run medical equipment like dialysis machines or oxygen concentrators.
When the grid is down, the solar panels and batteries directly power their homes so people can get through an outage without disruption.
The rest of the time, energy from the solar panels flows back to the grid, reducing residents’ utility costs.
Pyawasay: “Most of our elders are on fixed incomes, and any way that we can help them save that money so they can put it towards groceries or put it towards gas … that was our priority.”
So the tribe is using clean energy to help some of its most vulnerable members save money and stay safe.
Reporting credit: Sarah Kennedy / ChavoBart Digital Media
