On the Local Energy Rules Podcast, we share stories of monopoly power, energy democracy, and how communities can take charge to transform the energy system.
This special series, Seven Hundred Yards: How a Native Nation Resisted the Nuclear Plant Next Door, tells a story of broken promises and environmental injustice, of community resistance and resilience. Across three episodes, host John Farrell examines how powerful players sited the nuclear plant right next door to Prairie Island Indian Community, and how Tribal members and their allies have stood up for their rights — in the process, growing a clean energy future for the community and Minnesota as a whole.
Part 1: A Small Island in the Mississippi
Community members and experts share Prairie Island’s history and explain how powerful players allowed a nuclear plant to be built less than 700 yards away from the Native Nation.
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Part 2: Pretend Democracy
We take a deeper dive into why the nuclear waste “temporarily” stored on Prairie Island is still there 30 years later.
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Part 3: Seven Generations to Come
Since Xcel Energy got permission from the state to store nuclear waste next to its plant on Prairie Island, advocates have pushed the utility to invest in renewable alternatives and the Native Nation has set its own Net Zero goal.
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