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It took less than a minute to demolish the smokestacks of the San Juan Generating Station coal power plant, but it could take decades for the members of the Navajo Nation to reckon with its complicated legacy and what its demolition means for the future of energy development and economic progress in their communities.
The demolition of the San Juan Generating Station, which stopped burning coal in 2022, marked an inflection point in the Navajo Nation’s long and complex history with energy development. Utilities have burned coal on or near Navajo land since the 1960s, sending electricity to power the growth of cities across the southwestern United States, including Los Angeles, Las Vegas, Phoenix, San Diego, and Albuquerque.
“At one point San Juan Generating Station and the Four Corners Power Plant, according to Los Alamos National Lab, were the largest source of point-source pollution in the United States,” said Mike Eisenfeld of the San Juan Citizens Alliance. Eisenfeld scheduled an EcoFlight tour on August 24 to witness both the demolition of the plant as well as the energy transition underway. Referring to the San Juan Generating Station specifically and the Four Corners Region generally, Eisenfeld said, “This is the last coal plant up here. All the others have been retired. Gone.” Today, several large-scale solar projects are in the works, including the San Juan Solar Project.
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The sheer possibility that these companies are using taxpayer resources to collude with international oil cartels and rob hardworking Americans’ pockets to pad their own is beyond reprehensible. It is time for Congress to work together to hold Big Oil accountable.”
