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Unknown A
Really fortunate to be joined this morning by someone who has been impacted by some of these across the board spending freezes. Bob Blake is the founder of Solar Bear Full Service solar installation company and also Native Sun Community Power Development, a native led nonprofit that promotes renewable energy and energy efficiency. Great to meet you, Bob. Thank you so much for joining us.
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Unknown B
Thank you for having me.
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Unknown A
Yeah. So you got this notification like a letter from the federal government on January 28th. Give us a sense of what you were up to and how this has impacted you.
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Unknown B
Yeah, well, we had a number of projects that we were working on between electric vehicles and also solar projects, battery projects through the Department of Energy and other agencies. And we got this letter saying to essentially stop that, you know, in all these different projects. And so we adhere to the letter because it did come down from this particular administration. And so we're kind of sitting in a spot where we're kind of in limbo right now, trying to figure out exactly what our next moves are going to be.
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Unknown C
So if you're trying to talk to somebody, let's say somebody's watching this and their number one concern is they want to cut the deficit, cut government spending and make things more affordable for people here in the United States. What would you say to them about this spending and whether that's actually going to accomplish that long term?
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Unknown B
Yeah, great question. You know, a lot of these projects are around and focusing on renewable energy. And we know that that is one of the cheapest sources of energy that we can, you know, use. The other part about this is a lot of these projects are out in rural communities where because of the weather patterns, because of what's currently happening with climate change, a lot of the savings are going to go into these communities. And not only that, but hire these individuals to be able to work in this industry. So this is really going to affect a lot of these most vulnerable communities, especially in rural America, where a lot of this funding and a lot of this money is concentrated at.
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Unknown A
And so tell us specifically about the programs you were working on. I know one was for building out electric vehicle chargers, another was a solar installation project. Like give us a little bit of the nitty gritty about why these particular projects were important for these particular communities.
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Unknown B
Yes, well, they were going to save the average American. Right. Fuel savings. You know, we deal with energy poverty in these areas. They were going to be able to save them on their electricity bill. We know that a lot of folks that lose their homes, one of the first things they can't do is pay their Electricity bill. So it's kind of a way for us to be able to keep people in their homes. The jobs, the operations and maintenance that were going to be happening from these particular projects, the workforce development opportunities that were going to be happening from this. Also just the opportunity that one of the battery projects was actually gonna be backing up a criminal justice complex. So, you know, and those extra savings could have went into rehabilitation programs, being able to offer folks the ability to get a job when released.
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Unknown B
So there's a lot of things here that I believe that these savings could have helped these communities by implementing them.
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Unknown C
So what's gonna happen without this federal money?
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Unknown B
Well, currently, right now, these projects are on hold. I hope that this administration reconsiders because investment into rural America is an investment into this country. Investment into energy sovereignty is an investment into this country. So I hope that this administration reconsiders their actions and then we can continue forward with. With these great projects that the past administration felt like were needed.
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Unknown C
It just occurred to me, by the way, are the workers who are being furloughed as a result of these projects being shut down applying for unemployment benefits as we speak?
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Unknown B
You know, I can't speak for every subcontractor, but, you know, what happens a lot of times in these situations is that they do have to apply for, you know, benefits, which you can imagine.
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Unknown C
Why I'm asking that question. Because the person who is eyeing this from the perspective of trying to save taxpayer money has to realize that what they just did is they're still paying people taxpayer money, except now they're paying them to sit at home in homes powered by, you know, fossil fuels, right. That are more expensive instead of paying them to go out and develop renewable energy.
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Unknown B
Right. And I think you get to a much bigger picture, right, is, you know, the purpose that these folks get from doing this, doing this kind of work. Right? And this is how we battle the social ills that are plaguing our community, like drug addictions, alcoholism. You know, we can go down, down the list. But you give these folks the purpose and, you know, the opportunity to get up every morning and serve their communities. You know, there's other ways that, you know, and if you don't do that, they're going to fall into these other traps. And that's one of the things that I'm concerned about and that I worry about because, you know, we all love our communities and we just want the best for them.
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Unknown A
Well, and of course, it's also just one more broken promise between the federal government and These tribal nations also that you're working in, that has to fuel a long and very justified sentiment of, you know, you can't trust these people. They're not going to be there for us when we need them.
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Unknown B
Great point. You know, that's another thing here. A lot of my projects are in tribal communities and there's been a lot of broken promises between the United States government and tribal nations. There is a nation to nation trust responsibility that I believe that United States government needs to fulfill. Supreme Court, Neil Gorsuch did point out that treaties are the supreme law of the land. I hope that this president and this administration adheres to that. So you're absolutely correct. This is just another long list of broken promises that are happening in native country.
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Unknown A
My last question for you, Bob, and Ryan may have one as well. But what do you do next? What's your plan from here?
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Unknown C
Yeah, that's what I was going to ask.
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Unknown B
Yeah. Well, you know, I will continue to advocate for a greener, cleaner future for all. And we will try to get these projects financed some way somehow. And the bottom line is that a lot of people are counting on us and we want to come through. So that's going to be my next job. And I hope that we can continue to fulfill at least our promise to these communities.
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Unknown A
Well, thank you, Bob. It's a pleasure to meet you and we're really grateful for you sharing your story.
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Unknown B
Thank you for having me.
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Unknown A
It's our pleasure.
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Unknown A
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