Walk into the Warm Springs Fire and Safety Building today and you notice it right away: the lights are bright. That may sound like a small thing, but for Fire Chief Scott Spaulding and the people his crew treats every day, it has made a real difference.

"When the new lighting came in, it completely made it brighter. The crews can see the patients better, and the patient can see the crew better," Spaulding said. "I think the warmth, the feeling of the building helps out with patient care. I think it's all around a better experience."

The improved lighting at the fire station and medical clinic is one of more than 40 energy efficiency projects completed on the Warm Springs Reservation over the past two years through a partnership between Energy Trust of Oregon and the Confederated Tribes of Warm Springs. The initiative has invested more than $90,000 in upgrades at the High Lookee Lodge and the Fire and Safety Building alone — and the two buildings together are projected to save approximately $13,800 annually in energy costs.

Unique Needs on Tribal Land

Carina Miller, tribal government stakeholder relations manager for Energy Trust of Oregon, said working on a reservation requires a different approach than typical rural energy projects.

"This is a reservation and so it's a very unique community. We need to be able to anticipate for higher energy needs and some of these things that are going to impact our communities regardless. But here in rural Oregon, on the reservations, there are different and unique needs that ETO is learning how to fill those gaps," Miller said.

The projects span both energy efficiency and energy enterprise — tribal land not only consumes energy but also generates and sells power to surrounding communities, including through the tribe's renewable energy infrastructure. That dual role gives energy upgrades added economic significance for the tribe as a whole.

Brighter Days at High Lookee Lodge

At the High Lookee Lodge, a 26-year-old elder care facility on the reservation, upgraded lighting has improved conditions for residents whose vision has diminished with age. Fay Hurtado, director of the lodge, said the impact on daily life for elders has been meaningful.

"The energy upgrade was awesome. The elders were able to see," Hurtado said. "Dim light is sometimes hard on some that can't see very well. So the upgrades brought a lot of light to our facility."

Building Toward More

The current partnership marks just the beginning of what both Energy Trust and tribal leadership hope will be an expanding relationship. Earlier this year, the Warm Springs Housing Authority received a $1 million state grant to add solar panels and battery storage systems to housing units that have already received weatherization, lighting, and heat pump improvements — building on the Energy Trust work to create a more complete energy upgrade at each site.

Three housing sites owned and operated by the Warm Springs Housing Authority are involved in the solar and battery project. Together, the layered investments are aimed at lowering energy bills for tribal members, strengthening resilience against wildfires and extreme weather, and reducing the reservation's dependence on outside energy sources.

For a rural community of roughly 3,000 people on a 1,000-square-mile reservation — where median household income is below $36,000 — lower energy costs translate directly to more money available for other needs. Energy Trust says it plans to continue expanding its programs on the Warm Springs Reservation in the years ahead.