Lawrence Livermore National Laboratory (LLNL) and the Navajo Nation have signed a memorandum of understanding (MOU) to collaborate on energy in areas including energy security, wind, solar, geothermal, carbon sequestration, environmental studies, shale gas, oil recovery and coal gasification.
The MOU comes on the heels of a newly developed policy for the Navajo Nation intended to protect the energy, natural resources and assets of the nation; create a self-sustaining economic future; and supply Navajo communities with the benefits afforded by energy development through total resource sovereignty.
Under the agreement, LLNL will help the Navajo Nation complete a comprehensive energy assessment of its resources.
The Navajo Nation is a semi-autonomous Native American-governed territory covering 27,425 square miles occupying all of northeastern Arizona, the southeastern portion of Utah and northwestern New Mexico, with more than 300,000 members living on tribal land. American Indian tribes in the U.S. own about 15% of the natural resources in the country.
‘We are in need of national laboratory expertise to assist us with our energy portfolio,’ says Sam Woods, energy policy adviser for the Navajo president's office. ‘The tribal energy plan will not only assist the tribe, but the country as well.’
