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SAGE, which stands for Strategic, Advancement, Goals, and the Environment, is charged with leading Standing Rock’s efforts at developing renewable energy resources for economic development. Anpetu Wi (meaning “the breaking of the new day” in the Lakota language) will be an enduring revenue source for SRST and will support Standing Rock in providing essential needs such as schools, roads, health care, and housing development.

The project represents a community development model to produce renewable energy that offers a path toward self-determination and sovereignty for Standing Rock and other Native nations. No tribally owned public power project in the U.S. has achieved this level of development to date for a utility-scale wind farm.

SAGE has already submitted an application for interconnection to the Southwest Power Pool and has raised nearly $2 million from nine different philanthropic foundations for pre-development work to set up SAGE.

“We are proud to achieve another milestone in our quest to create a model for self-determination and economic development not only for our people but for all Native communities,” Joseph McNeil Jr., general manager of SAGE, said in a statement.

The launch of the new crowdfunding initiative, which aims to raise $1.5 million as its phase-one goal, is the next step toward achieving the building of Anpetu Wi. It follows the milestone of SAGE submitting its application for interconnection to the Southwest Power Pool. Nearly $2 million has already been raised to date from nine different philanthropic foundations for pre-development work to establish SAGE, which will also take advantage of the enhanced market economics that come with qualification for the 2020 Federal Production Tax Credit. The total cost of the project is estimated to be $325 million.