Pine Ridge entrepreneur Henry Red Cloud was selected by the South Dakota Democratic Party as its nominee for Public Utilities Commission at its State Convention Saturday.
“I am honored to be nominated,” Red Cloud said. “I am eager to discuss the challenges and opportunities facing consumers and utility companies in South Dakota, especially the opportunity we have to make South Dakota a leader in producing renewable energy.”
Red Cloud is the direct 5th generation descendant of Chief Red Cloud, one of the last Lakota war chiefs. He was born and raised on the Pine Ridge Reservation in South Dakota, home of the Oglala Lakota Nation. For more than a decade, Red Cloud has devoted himself to developing his expertise with renewable energy applications that are environmentally sound, economically beneficial, and culturally appropriate.
Red Cloud is the founder and owner of Lakota Solar Enterprises (LSE), based on Pine Ridge Reservation in South Dakota. One of the first 100% Native American-owned and operated renewable energy companies in the nation, LSE employs tribal members to manufacture and install efficient solar air heating systems for Native American families living on reservations across the Great Plains. Red Cloud also co-manages the Red Cloud Renewable Energy Center (RCREC), a one-of-a-kind educational facility where tribes from around the U.S. receive hands-on green job training in renewable energy technology and sustainable building practices.
Red Cloud calls himself a “twenty-first century Lakota Warrior, bringing green technology and employment to Native American communities.”
Red Cloud’s efforts to bring renewable energy to tribal lands have been recognized nationally and internationally, including the following awards:
- Most Creative People (Fast Company), 2015
- White House Champion of Change for Solar Deployment, 2014
- Oglala Lakota Service Award, 2014
- Berea College Service Award, 2014
- Charles Greeley Abbot Award (American Solar Energy Society), 2013
- World Energy Globe Award, 2012
- Annual Innovation Award (Interstate Renewable Energy Council), 2010
- Nuclear Free Future Award, 2010
- Innovative Idea Champion (Corporation for Enterprise), 2009
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