A Death and a Birth – Whither the Navajo Nation? - November 2

Within less than a ½ hour as we travel the road from Kayenta to Monument Valley in the Navajo Nation we bear witness to two faces of Navajo economic and social development. One represents the past and was essentially forced on the Navajo; the other is a potential future and alternative development strategy.

The first face comes into view as we approach Kayenta from the east. We see a large conveyer belt over the road.  It carries coal to rail cars where the coal heads to the Navajo Generating Station (NGS) in Page, Arizona.  For 40 years this industry has provided jobs and revenue while polluting the environment (NGS is the nation’s 8th-largest climate polluter).  Now, within 2 years, Peabody Coal will cease operating the mine and it will close.  With it the generating station will also close. The closure of the mine and NGS will have a potentially devastating effect on the economic fortunes of many Navajo and Hopi families. Through lease agreements and royalties, NGS accounts for roughly a quarter of the revenue the Navajo Nation collects each year. Similarly, the coal mine 70 miles to the east, accounts for two-thirds of the total revenue for the neighboring Hopi Tribe.  Unemployment and low income within the tribes is already high (Navajo – 22% unemployment; Hopi – 13%; household income below $25,000 for half of Navajo households and one-third of Hopi households). Having become dependent on coal and with nothing in place to replace these losses the result is sure to be severe for both the Navajo and the Hopi. It is unlikely that the health benefits of the closure (fewer premature deaths from environmental disease, heart attacks and asthma attacks) or benefits to the water supply (water levels have dropped precipitously due to the industry’s needs) will be enough of an offset.

But within 15 minutes on the same road a possible future, at least for the Navajo, appears. On the left side of the road we spy a huge array of solar panels.  It is the recently constructed and opened 27 Megawatt Kayenta Solar Facility owned and operated by Navajo Tribal Utility Authority, the primary utility service provider for Navajo.  Providing electricity to almost 8,000 households, it is the first ever Navajo renewable energy project. But it is not clear what, if anything, will follow it or how quickly. Given that Arizona is the nation’s sunniest state it would seem that there is a future here for the Navajo, Hopi and others.  We hope so.

But that future, if it comes, won’t come soon enough. The past, in the form of coal and power generated from coal will die in two years, but with nothing immediately to replace its jobs it appears that the economic blow could be devastating, no matter how much the environment benefits.    
Kayenta Solar Facility




Peabody Coal Operation

Peabody Coal Conveyer Belt


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