One Spirit, a nonprofit global collective of Oglala Lakota Indians and volunteers, with the help from Everybody Solar, a nonprofit dedicated to providing solar energy to other nonprofits, has unveiled a solar battery-backup to the meat processing facility, the Charging Buffalo House, on the Pine Ridge Indian Reservation.
In 2019, Everybody Solar brought the Charging Buffalo House an 11.6-kW solar energy system. The array was installed to help increase the sustainability of the first meat processing facility on the reservation. Prior to the commissioning of the site, meat was processed out of state rather than on the reservation, incurring high costs and no guarantee of traditional Lakota handling by the processors. Indeed, last year during COVID-19 travel restrictions, for months, the facility served as the only source of fresh meat for most families on the reservation.
“I am really happy for the battery backup to our solar system,” said Bamm Brewer, Charging Buffalo House manager. “It will help protect our meat during critical hot summer power outages, keeping our people healthy. I really think our ancestors would be proud.”
Donors for the solar array include individual donors, Tribal Funding, RELiON Batteries, Citizen and Business Performance Improvement.
