The Standing Rock Sioux reservation near the border of North and South Dakota has some of America's most powerful winds, with 20 mile an hour (mph) gusts regularly scouring its vast plains.

Tribes cannot access key incentives for larger clean energy projects until they secure an agreement to connect to the regional electrical grid … yet Native American households lack access to electricity at far higher rates than the national average, according to the Energy Information Administration. Only 30% of the Navajo Nation reservation has electricity despite being surrounded by large cities like Phoenix.