Solar panels and battery banks now fully power three administration buildings on the Mesa Grande Reservation, giving the Mesa Grande Band of Diegueño Mission Indians its first public clean-energy installation and a way to keep the lights on when the grid fails. The reservation, located about five miles outside Julian toward Lake Henshaw in San Diego County, experiences power outages several times a year, with some stretching on for days at a time.
The new system is designed to let the buildings keep running independently from the electric grid during those outages, according to Solar Power World. Before the installation, the administration buildings had no solar power of their own, and backup generators on the reservation were often unreliable, as reported by KPBS. The three buildings now running on solar and battery power are named Tekamuk, Hallyeyaaw and Golden Eagle.
Keeping the Lights On During Blackouts
“The new solar system improves the reservation's resilience during crises,” Curtis Lachusa said, according to KPBS, adding that it keeps power, communications, computers and services operating during outages. Lachusa also said the system allows kitchen services, food storage and phone charging to continue when the grid goes down — notable on a reservation that still relies on propane for cooking. He described the project as bringing the tribe closer to net zero.
Grid electricity did not reach the reservation until around the mid-20th century, and the effects of that late arrival still linger: a few homes on the reservation lack grid connections altogether, though many of the roughly 60 homes there already have their own forms of solar power, the station's report notes. The administration buildings' new system is expected to generate about 60 megawatt-hours of solar electricity annually and save the tribe at least $16,780 in electricity costs per year, per Solar Power World — a figure KPBS separately reported as close to $17,000 annually. The project is also expected to displace about 18 metric tons of carbon emissions per year, per the same KPBS account.
Funding and Local Jobs Behind the Project
The Mesa Grande Band partnered with the Solar Electric Light Fund on the installation, and the nonprofit's executive director, Bob Freling, was involved in the effort. Four tribal members were employed for the solar and battery system installations, and the tribe received about $200,000 in private donations to help fund the project, with the William, Jeff and Jennifer Gross Family Foundation among the contributors, according to the same source. Lachusa and Freling have also discussed converting the reservation's water pump to solar power in the future.
Housing Plans Take Shape After Homekey Award
The Mesa Grande Band describes the energy project as part of a longer-term effort to change the narrative around past generations, and the tribe is now turning toward expanding housing on the reservation, which is currently home to about 130 of the tribe's 800 enrolled citizens. KPBS reports the tribe is planning to build dozens, or even hundreds, of new housing units and infrastructure intended to allow more members to return home.
That expansion follows a $12.432 million Tribal Homekey award the Mesa Grande Indian Housing Authority received on Dec. 4, 2025, according to Tribal Business News, which will fund a first set of 12 homes designed for people at risk of homelessness. California's Tribal Homekey program, run through the state's Department of Housing and Community Development, supports tribal entities building or rehabilitating rental housing, according to the California Department of Housing and Community Development. Enterprise Community Partners describes that initial allotment as Phase 1A, with future phases dependent on additional funding.
Beyond that first phase, accounts of the tribe's longer-term housing ambitions vary widely. Tribal Business News reports the broader master plan envisions as many as 150 homes across multiple phases, while Solar Power World describes a longer-term plan that includes 1,500 new homes. Tribal Business News also reports about 50 people are currently on the tribe's housing waitlist, a number it says continues to grow.
