The Santa Ynez Chumash are a federally recognized tribe located in Santa Barbara County, California. Like many tribal nations, the Santa Ynez Chumash face barriers to achieving widespread deployment of both residential and commercial energy efficiency and renewable energy (EE/RE), such as a lack of information about and interest in EE/RE opportunities and difficulty in obtaining financing. The Santa Ynez Chumash Environmental Office created a program with the following elements designed to address each of these challenges: partnerships with local contractors to establish the Chumash Community Energy Program (CCEP), an EE/RE jobs training and apprenticeship program; an extensive outreach campaign, including door-to-door promotion by trusted members of the tribe; and a residential solar panel give-away program and utility rebates.

Learn more about the key features, approaches, partners, funding sources, and achievements of this program. 

• Chumash Community Energy Efficiency and Renewable Energy Project Profile (PDF)(4 pp, 803 K, June 2016)