Indigenous Knowledge Systems & the Energy Transition in Texas
Written by Monserrat Menendez, Interior Designer
Monserrat is an entrepreneur, interior architect, and sustainability advocate, as well as the founder of Senom Design, a firm dedicated to merging innovative design with sustainable solutions. With over a decade of experience across residential, commercial, and international projects, she specializes in bringing clients’ visions to life through thoughtful, high-impact interiors.
Texas loves to celebrate its renewable energy boom. The state leads the nation in wind and solar, breaks battery-storage records, and is widely recognized as the future of American energy. But this success story hides a deeper, more uncomfortable truth. Indigenous Nations, the original stewards of Texas, remain excluded from the benefits, decision-making, and protections tied to this transition.
1. Texas leads in renewable energy, but Indigenous communities are left out
Texas is producing more renewable energy than any other state:
169,442 GWh of wind and solar in 2024
42,000 MW of wind, 22,000 MW of solar, 6,500 MW of battery storage
Over $29.5 billion in payments to Texas landowners
One-third of ERCOT demand met by wind + solar in early 2025
But the benefits are not reaching Indigenous communities. Many still face extreme energy poverty and lack basic access to electricity.
2. Sacred land vs. billion-dollar infrastructure
For the Carrizo/Comecrudo Tribe, the fight to protect Garcia Pasture, a sacred archaeological site where over 40,000 artifacts have been uncovered, has become a global movement. Tribal members traveled to France, Germany, and Ireland to urge banks and ports to withdraw support from LNG projects planned on their ancestral land. They convinced the Port of Cork to step back. Meanwhile, major banks continue financing harmful industrial development on Indigenous lands.
3. Energy poverty is still widespread in tribal communities
Despite Texas’s energy wealth:
14% of reservation households lack electricity
15,000 homes in the Navajo Nation remain unelectrified
21% of Navajo and 35% of Hopi homes still don’t have power
The Inflation Reduction Act introduces new funding and tax credits for tribal electrification, finally giving tribes tools long denied to them.
4. Traditional ecological knowledge (TEK) offers real climate solutions
Indigenous stewardship keeps ecosystems healthier than surrounding regions. TEK provides:
Wildfire-reducing fire management
Resilient farming systems
Advanced weather prediction
Localized climate insights and adaptive strategies
Science and TEK together create a stronger, more resilient path forward.
5. The 2021 Texas freeze exposed infrastructure failures
The February 2021 freeze left 4.5 million Texans without power, caused hundreds of deaths, and devastated local agriculture. Low-income and minority communities suffered the longest outages. Texas has not meaningfully corrected these vulnerabilities yet, and Indigenous communities have centuries of climate-adaptive knowledge that Texas could learn from.
6. Federal policy is improving, but barriers remain
Recent wins include FERC rejecting hydropower permits without tribal consultation and tribes gaining authority to manage their own energy projects. Still, permitting delays, regulatory gaps, and underfunded tribal infrastructure block progress.
Conclusion
Texas sits at a crossroads. Leading the nation in renewable energy is not enough if Indigenous communities remain excluded, sacred lands threatened, and traditional knowledge ignored. A just transition requires respecting tribal sovereignty, integrating TEK, expanding energy access, and ensuring that Texas’s energy future is not built on inequity.
Key ways to make this better
Require tribal consultation before permitting energy projects
Streamline tribal renewable energy approvals
Form a TEK advisory board in Texas
Direct renewable revenue toward tribal electrification
Protect sacred sites and vulnerable communities
Apply Indigenous strategies to extreme-weather planning
Fund Indigenous climate organizations
Push investors to divest from harmful projects
Read more from Monserrat Menendez
Monserrat Menendez, Interior Designer
Monserrat is an entrepreneur, interior architect, and sustainability advocate, as well as the founder of Senom Design, a firm dedicated to merging innovative design with sustainable solutions. With over a decade of experience across residential, commercial, and international projects, she specializes in bringing clients’ visions to life through thoughtful, high-impact interiors.
She is the U.S. Brand Ambassador for U Green, an organization that helps companies become more profitable while empowering people and brands to follow a consistent path toward sustainability through transformative education and specialized consulting. As an Executive Contributor to Brainz Magazine, she shares her expertise in design, sustainability, and innovation. Her mission is to create spaces that are not only beautiful but also responsible and forward-thinking.
