• About the Guide
• Development Process
  • Energy Planning
  • Evaluating Options
    • Energy Fundamentals
    • Load Assessment
    • Energy Efficiency Technologies
    • Current Energy Supplies
    • Renewable Resource Assessment
    • Renewable Technologies
    • Organizational Structures
    • Environmental Assessment
    • Exporting Electricity
    • Economics
    • Risk Assessment
    • Options Integration
    • Creating a Time Line
  • Organizational Development
  • Project Development
• Assessing Energy Resources
• Energy Technology Basics
• Electricity Grid Basics
• Costs
• Project Implementation Issues
• Case Studies
• Glossary

Evaluating Options

This section helps you refine the options outlined in your strategic energy plan.

Based on your recently completed draft strategic plan, you have identified a number of priority needs and energy supply options. Your next step on the path is to evaluate your tribe's energy options — deciding more narrowly what makes the most sense, how much it will cost, who needs to be involved, and how it will be implemented. At this stage, the analysis becomes more rigorous, the numbers more real, and the challenges better defined. In other words, the road ahead can be seen more clearly. Take your time with this step — the more thoroughly you analyze your tribe's options, the smoother the implementation stages will be.

To continue, select a step in the process for evaluating your tribe's options or print the complete process:

• Energy fundamentals: What is energy, anyway?

• Load assessment: Evaluating your tribe's thermal and electrical needs.

• Energy efficiency technology options: Plugging the leaks.

• Current energy supplies and suppliers: Drawing on existing energy supplies.

• Renewable energy resource assessment: Evaluating indigenous resources.

• Renewable technology options: Evaluating costs and benefits.

• Organizational options: Ensuring the project's long-term viability.

• Environmental assessment: Minimizing the impacts on nature.

• Exporting electricity: The power grid as a market.

• Economics: The business of energy.

• Risk assessment: Look before you leap!

• Options integration: Narrowing the field of possibilities.

• Creating a time line: Setting milestones and developing a time line.