Leading the Charge is a regular feature spotlighting the movers and shakers in energy development on tribal lands. This issue we had the opportunity to speak with Lizana Pierce, an Engineer and Program Manager with the U.S. Department of Energy’s (DOE) Office of Indian Energy. Pierce joined the Office of Indian Energy in July 2015, bringing with her more than 15 years of experience leading the Tribal Energy Program under DOE’s Office of Energy Efficiency and Renewable Energy. She is now responsible for implementing the Office of Indian Energy’s funding and financing program and administering the resultant tribal energy project grants and agreements. Pierce works out of Golden, Colorado, co-located with DOE’s National Renewable Energy Laboratory.

What has been the biggest shift you’ve seen since you started working with tribes and clean energy more than 15 years ago?

Throughout the history of our program, we have relied on tribal input as a means of prioritizing the needs of Indian Country. When we first started working with tribes, they told us owning data on their resources was their number-one priority. Back then, industry representatives were interested in the vast resources on tribal lands, but if projects didn’t progress, the developer or the investor would keep the data they collected and not share it with the tribe. Tribes wanted funding to do their own resource assessments so they could own the data. So we made feasibility studies a priority. By offering technical and financial assistance, we’ve seen a huge shift in Indian Country. From 2002 to 2014, DOE funding has helped retrofit 70 tribal buildings, which saved tribes more than 10 million kilowatt-hours of energy and $2.5 million per year; complete energy audits on more than 250 tribal buildings; move more than 580 megawatts of potential renewable energy generation toward development; and train more than 170 tribal members as part of tribal energy projects.

What makes you most excited about coming to work every day?

We are touching people’s lives and seeing that we are making a difference—one tribe, one person, one project, one student intern at a time. I’m amazed at the accomplishments tribes have made with relatively small DOE investments. It’s a hard row to hoe. Tribal leaders have many challenges, such as extremely high unemployment, poverty, and in some places, lack of basic services or adequate housing. Energy may be less of an immediate priority. To help tribes realize the cost savings that can result from energy efficiency and renewable energy projects, we provide education and training, technical assistance, and funding. The funding is competitive, and from 2002 to 2014, DOE awarded a total of $48 million to fund 183 tribal clean energy projects. During that same period, tribes contributed a total of $45.6 million in cost sharing to advance their energy projects. This is not just a job for them—this is about their communities, and you can’t help but be moved.

Tell us about one of your favorite tribal energy projects you’ve worked on and why.

Each project is unique, but frankly it’s the diversity of the Indian tribes or Alaska Native villages, and the diversity of the types of projects that is so interesting. For example, the similarities and differences between solar projects in Arizona, like that of Tonto Apache, and the solar project undertaken in Fort Yukon, Alaska. Large-scale wind development that the Rosebud Sioux have been pursuing for many years versus the wind turbines installed by the Chaninik Wind Group to serve four villages in Alaska. And, those Indian tribes who have invested in a long-term energy vision like the Forest County Potawatomi and Picuris Pueblo, and those who are just beginning to explore their energy options. 

It’s been a privilege and honor to work with so many Indian tribes all across the nation over the years. I have the opportunity not only to see the progress individual Indian tribes are making in affecting their energy future, but also to see changes in Indian Country, as a whole, over time.

What is your hope for the future of clean energy development on tribal lands?

That we can build on the successes tribes have made to date and that we can continue to provide the services—whether it be technical assistance, funding, education, information—and see this pipeline of projects be realized.

Why did you become an engineer?

I was driven to get an education. I saw education as a path toward a life out of the welfare and poverty that surrounded me. As a result, I graduated from high school when I was 16 and, since I was proficient in math and science, my dad said, “What about engineering?” Knowing little about what engineering was at the time, I nevertheless designated it on my college application form and ended up getting a mechanical engineering degree from Colorado State University. Later, I ended up pursuing an MBA from the University of Northern Colorado.

Prior to coming to DOE, I worked for 10 years in aerospace at Martin Marietta (now Lockheed Martin), primarily in systems integration. Among other things, I had the privilege of working on the integration of the science payload for a shuttle mission, including developing commands for the science payload and training for the mission with the shuttle astronauts.

What one piece of advice would you give to a young woman engineer who is just getting started in her career?

That’s a hard one, because it is so very different for women today. When I started college, and then later in aerospace after receiving my degree in mechanical engineering, I was one of very few women in a virtually all male industry. But, while in a meeting not so many years ago, I remember looking around the room and realizing that my colleague was the only male in the meeting. It was an awakening that times were changing. So it is a very different world today than when I started as one of only a few women in engineering.

Regardless of whether a young woman or a young man, I would recommend that they follow their dreams and their passion. I personally enjoyed engineering because of the diversity. I enjoy working in Indian Country, not only because we can see the positive impacts in people’s lives, but because of the diversity—each day is different, there is always something new to learn, and there is never a lack of things to do.