The coal-fired Navajo Generating Station closed in December 2019 after the Navajo Nation Council had voted against purchasing it. Kayenta II, a new solar farm, was commissioned the following summer.
“With the number of cloudless days that they have, doing this solar project is just exactly what needs to be put into play,” Randy Parker, the Utah director of USDA Rural Development, said at the time. “They have Kayenta I and Kayenta II. Kayenta II should be coming online in the very near future. I mean, we’re literally weeks away from that. The expectation is that they will be generating revenue literally in weeks.”
Parker had said that the loan to the Navajo Tribal Utility Authority should support expansion of electricity in the Navajo Nation, where 15,000 people live without power. Surplus electricity is being sold to repay the loan.
“Harvesting the renewable energy will help meet tribal needs. In addition, they will be able to sell some of that power into the Phoenix area and generate income to expand the current grid and meet the needs of more of the isolated tribal members,” Parker said.
One of the major difficulties in connecting homes on the Navajo Nation to the grid is the distance between homes and power plants. The loan is anticipated to address this because it includes funds for building and improving power lines. (mfo)
Here, in case you missed them, are Part 1, Part 2, Part 3 and Part 4 of this week's series.
