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After 45 years in operation, Arizona's Navajo Generating Station — the largest coal plant in the West — has shut down. The massive facility faced increasing financial headwinds from cheaper natural gas and renewable energy. Employees will soon begin decommissioning the plant, a process expected to take years.
The plant's closure, along with the shuttering of the Kayenta Mine which supplied coal, will have a major financial impact on the Navajo and Hopi tribes. Leaders of the two nations have estimated declines in revenue of tens of millions of dollars.
After thanking the plant's employees, Navajo Nation President Jonathan Nez noted, "Times are changing and energy development is changing — the demand for coal-based energy is no longer at its peak not only in our region but across the country. As Diné people, we have always been resilient in times of change, and that’s what we are doing by pursuing renewable energy options. We are looking to become the leader in renewable energy throughout the Southwest and Indian Country.”
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It seems to me that the Trump administration is overreaching in its ‘energy dominance’ agenda in its zeal to develop inside the sage-grouse habitat.”
