Sun Bear Industries

06/03/2026

Isaiah Ness will be speaking on the panel "Underwriting for Energy Sovereignty", focused on financing clean energy projects in Tribal communities and they will explore how Native CDFIs are adapting to underwrite complex energy investments, assess project and ex*****on risks, navigate contractor and vendor reliability, and structure bankable transactions that meet the realities of today’s funding landscape.

We hope to see you there!

06/01/2026

Isaiah Ness recently sat down with Advisor Ai Solutions founder Jordan Salvador for a discussion on the power dynamic within the United States.

This discussion highlights many things, but ultimately reiterates the fact that it is imperative to understand what is happening within energy and learn from the successes and failures happening all around us.

Link:

By the time communities show up to protest a new energy project, it's already built.Isaiah Ness has seen it happen. And he says the window to act is right no...

05/27/2026

This is what it's all about.

Isaiah Ness and Sun Bear Industries took some time to speak with Chappell Elementary’s 4th grade classes about who we are, the work we do, and why it all matters.

We shared how solar, storage, and tailored energy planning support the communities we serve, while highlighting the growing momentum behind Tribal renewable energy development and clean energy across Wisconsin as a whole.

The students were engaged, thoughtful, and impressively knowledgeable while asking great questions and making real connections to the future of energy. Definitely an audience to remember.

Thank you to Chappell Elementary for welcoming us and allowing us to help spark curiosity around Wisconsin’s clean energy future.

05/13/2026

05/07/2026

Even when funding is secured, projects can stall.

Join Isaiah Ness in this session at the 4th Annual Tribal Energy Evolution Summit covering systematic Tribal clean energy deployment and identifying what will take projects from planning to operational in the most efficient way possible.

05/04/2026

The federal government is compressing NEPA review timelines, eliminating public comment periods, and stripping out the protections that tribal nations have used for decades to defend their land.

Take a minute to read this article explaining how NEPA rollbacks are shortchanging Tribal Sovereignty.

The federal government is compressing NEPA review timelines, eliminating public comment periods, and stripping out the protections that tribal nations have used for decades to defend their land.

05/04/2026

This year at RES, Isaiah Ness said something that stuck:

A feasibility study means nothing if it can’t be built, and construction is only as strong as the accuracy behind it.

The real work is in closing that gap.
Turning strategy into steel in the ground.
Plans into power.

That’s where projects succeed..... or fall apart.

05/04/2026

Our white paper takes a deeper look at the unique challenges Tribal Nations continue to face, from historical marginalization to ongoing economic barriers, and explores how renewable energy can serve as a pathway forward.

Through detailed analysis, we highlight how solar, storage, and broader energy strategies can support long-term resilience, strengthen local economies, and create opportunities for true ownership and self-determination.

If you’re interested in how energy development can be structured to support both sustainability and economic growth, this is worth the read.

05/04/2026

After several years working alongside Tribal Nations on energy infrastructure, one pattern keeps repeating at our firm:

The decisions that most constrain a community's long-term options are the ones that don't feel consequential at the time they're made.

An energy project signed under a Power Purchase Agreement with the incumbent utility looks great in year one. In year 26, when the PPA expires, the real question surfaces: will the utility's incentive be to renegotiate favorably, or to capture more value from the community than it does today? Without governance authority, the Tribe negotiates from participation, not control.

That's the structural argument for a Tribal Utility Authority, and it's the subject of our latest piece at Sun Bear Industries.

We break down what a TUA can do that a Tribal Energy Enterprise structurally cannot: rate-setting, jurisdictional shielding from state PUCs, access to public-power-only federal programs, tax-exempt bond issuance, and load-serving entity status. We also cover why the hybrid model (TUA governs, enterprise executes) is usually where this lands.

Of the 574 federally recognized Tribal Nations, fewer than 20 currently operate their own electric utility. The other 95% buy power from utilities they hold no regulatory authority over.

Read the full piece here:

A Sun Bear Industries perspective on infrastructure, governance, and long-term economic positioning for Tribal Nations.