Navajo Nations first solar project now producing enough electricity for about 13,000 homes

Skip in Skip x Embed x Share CLOSE NAVAJO GENERATING STATION AND KAYENTA MINE Electric train keeps coal plant burning | 1:23 Salt River Project spokesman George Hardeen talks about the train that transports coal from Kayenta Mine to the Navajo Generating Station. Mark Henle/azcentral.com 1 of 5 Skip in Skip x Embed x Share CLOSE NAVAJO GENERATING STATION AND KAYENTA MINE Effort to keep Navajo Generating Station open faces challenges | 1:19 Plans for a temporary extension and long-term hopes to keep the Navajo Generating Station open are facing challenges. Wochit 2 of 5 Skip in Skip x Embed x Share CLOSE NAVAJO GENERATING STATION AND KAYENTA MINE Employees, officials on possible closure of the Kayenta Mine | 1:59 Mine employees and officials talk about the possible closure of the Kayenta Mine. Mark Henle/azcentral.com 3 of 5 Skip in Skip x Embed x Share CLOSE NAVAJO GENERATING STATION AND KAYENTA MINE Future of Navajo Generating Station near Page | 1:13 Salt River Project spokesman Scott Harelson talks about the future of the Navajo Generating Station coal-burning plant near Page. Mark Henle/azcentral.com 4 of 5 Skip in Skip x Embed x Share CLOSE NAVAJO GENERATING STATION AND KAYENTA MINE Navajo Generating Station threatened with closure | 0:35 The Navajo Generating Station coal-fired power plant near Page and the coal mine that supplies it may close this year in the face of low natural-gas prices that undercut the economics of the plant. Wochit 5 of 5 Last VideoNext Video Electric train keeps coal plant burning

Effort to keep Navajo Generating Station open faces challenges

Employees, officials on possible closure of the Kayenta Mine

Future of Navajo Generating Station near Page

Navajo Generating Station threatened with closure

This Aug. 24, 2017, photo provided by Navajo Nation Office of the President and Vice President shows solar panels near famed sandstone buttes along the Arizona-Utah border on the Navajo Nation. The Kayenta Solar Facility is the first utility-scale solar project on the reservation, producing enough electricity to power about 13,000 Navajo homes. (Photo: Antonio Ramirez, AP)

A giant array of solar panels near the famed sandstone buttes of Monument Valley has begun producing electricity for the Navajo Nation at a time when the tribe is bracing for the loss of hundreds of jobs from the impending closure of a nearby coal-fired power plant.

The Kayenta Solar Facility is the first utility-scale solar project on the Navajo Nation, producing enough electricity to power about 13,000 Navajo homes.

The plant comes at a time when the area's energy landscape is shifting.

The coal-fired Navajo Generating Station near Page is set to close in December 2019, leaving a site that both tribal and private entities say has the potential for renewable energy development.

MORE: Navajo Nation OKs new lease for Navajo Generating Station coal plant

MORE: 10 challenges to keeping the Navajo Generating Station open

The Navajo Tribal Utility Authority, which owns the solar plant, said the project advances clean energy on the reservation long known for fossil fuel development, the Arizona Daily Sun reported.

Walter Haase, general manager of the tribal utility, said the plant proves to investors, developers and tribal communities that renewable energy projects are possible on the reservation.

Economic development often is hampered by the lack of infrastructure, required environmental clearances and consent from anyone holding a permit or lease for use of the land.

This Aug. 24, 2017 photo provided by Navajo Nation Office of the President and Vice President shows solar panels near famed sandstone buttes along the Arizona-Utah border on the Navajo Nation. The Kayenta Solar Facility is the first utility-scale solar project on the reservation, producing enough electricity to power about 13,000 Navajo homes. (Photo: Antonio Ramirez, AP)

Before the solar facility, "we had a reputation in the industry of not being able to get something built or brought online," Haase said.

The town of Kayenta benefited, too. The contractor hired and trained about 200 Navajos to build the plant, said Deenise Becenti, a spokeswoman for the tribal utility, leaving a qualified workforce for other projects.

The tribal utility avoided passing on the $60 million cost of the solar plant to its customers through federal solar investor tax credits, said Glenn Steiger, project manager for the solar farm.

A two-year power purchase and renewable energy credit agreement with the Salt River Project will cover loan repayments for the plant's construction, Steiger said.

The tribal utility is working on extending the agreement.

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