Seneca Environmental is on a mission to establish equitable, Earth-healing climate solutions. Selling a set of international renewable energy certificates to the social media platform Pinterest is one of the most recent steps in that journey, and it marks the first sale of its kind between a tribally-owned enterprise and a global tech company.

Owned by the Seneca Nation, the renewable energy development and investment company helps corporations reach their climate goals while helping Native communities build and invest in renewables. Its profits directly support the needs of members of the Seneca Nation in the Western New York region.

The renewable energy certificates (RECs) Pinterest purchased span 15 countries and will offset energy use in the tech company’s offices as part of its goal to run the buildings on 100 percent renewable energy.

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Renewable energy credits (RECs) procured by Seneca Environmental and retired on behalf of Pinterest is a story about honeybees, a Tribal-owned company and Pinterest.

The RECs come from 15 countries, including the co-op-owned Connexus Athens Solar project in Minnesota, which has a sister site in Ramsey that sits its panels about 1 meter from the ground to enable pollinator-friendly vegetation underneath the panels. This way, both the solar panels and the vegetation can harvest the sun for renewable energy, and the native pollinators and honeybees, respectively.

Seneca Environmental is a Tribal-owned business whose profits go directly toward supporting the needs of the members of the Seneca Nation, whose territory is in western New York. The company was established to deliver projects at scale for customers wanting to support historically underserved communities. Seneca Environmental reported that it is building a Tribal workforce and Indigenous enterprise capacity to benefit current and future generations.

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In the lead-up to the November election, Donald Trump threatened to “terminate” President Biden’s signature climate law, the Inflation Reduction Act, calling it the “Green New Scam.” Whether or not he kills the law, he is committed to slowing America’s transition from fossil fuels to clean energy — and few Americans seem concerned….

On energy, lawmakers can both boost renewables and reduce household bills. Lawmakers in Illinois recently made it illegal for utilities to shut off power for nonpayment when temperatures exceed 90 degrees. In New York, the Build Public Renewables Act directs a state-owned public power utility to build wind and solar infrastructure using union labor and to help working-class households cover energy costs. Tribe-owned companies are developing renewable energy to cut bills and support community development.

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A contract announced Aug. 2 by the General Services Administration (GSA) has led to a seven-figure deal with a tribally owned energy firm, marking the first use of a decades-old program aimed at prioritizing tribal energy sources.

The $1.7 million contract with Seneca Environmental Solutions, a tribal enterprise of the Seneca Nation, calls for the tribal firm to provide Energy Attribute Certificates (EACs) that verify 349,108 megawatt-hours of carbon pollution-free electricity. This clean energy matches the net annual usage of 185 federal buildings across 12 states, supporting the Biden administration’s goal of transitioning all federal operations to 100% carbon-free energy by 2030.

Seneca Environmental will source the EACS from existing energy projects managed by private-sector partners that are already generating power for a range of communities, according to the energy firm’s vice president, Matt Renner.

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A company owned by the Seneca Nation will be providing clean energy to 185 U.S. government buildings across 12 states under a landmark deal.

Seneca Environmental, the energy solutions division of Seneca Holdings, the wholly owned investment arm of the Seneca Nation, won the first-ever solicitation of its kind. The firm will sell energy attribute certificates to the General Services Administration (GSA) to power the government buildings with carbon pollution-free electricity.

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