Demolition of the largest coal-fired power plant in the western US brings reflection, hope for the northern Navajo nation

(Zak Podmore | Salt Lake Tribune) Spectators gather to witness the demolition of the Navajo Generating Station on December 18, 2020.

Page, Ariz. • A series of deep explosions shook the desert here on Friday morning, as hundreds of people gathered to witness the end of an era that has shaped life in the northern Navajo nation since the 1970s.

Three 775-meter concrete chimneys collapsed in rapid succession as part of the controlled demolition, hitting a cloud of dust that hung in the air for hours and covered the city of Page.

The 2.25-gigawatt Navajo generating station, located six miles south of the Utah State Line on the Navajo tribal site and majority owned by the Salt River Project, was the largest coal-fired power plant in the western United States by its forward generating capacity. to cease operations last year. Together with the Black Mesa-owned Peabody Mine Kayenta, which supplied the factory, the factory provided more than 750 jobs, mostly to Native American workers.

“People are saddened that it has gone down because it used to bring income to families,” said Pedro Whiterock, a member of the Navajo nation from Aneth, Utah, who runs a restaurant in Page and went out to demolish it with his children. “People used to watch [the plant] to warm up. “

These emissions had become a highlight of the region’s horizon, including for sailors on Lake Powell in southwestern San Juan County, Utah. They have also long been a cause for concern for the environment, emitting 14 million tonnes of greenhouse gases and other pollutants into the atmosphere each year, even after purifiers were added to stacks in the 1990s.

(Zak Podmore | The Salt Lake Tribune) Pedro Whiterock poses with his son Remington Whiterock before the demolition of the Navajo generating station near Page, Arizona, on December 18, 2020.

The coal mines on Black Mesa have partially drained the massive Navajo aquifer, draining springs and water sources in a region where running water is not available in thousands of homes. Other water sources have been contaminated, and opposition groups led by indigenous people have long called for the closure of mines and the power plant, including Black Mesa Trust, Diné CARE, Indigenous Action and ToNizhoniAni.

“I’m more of a tree hugger, so I’m glad he fell,” said Dustin Attakai, an iron worker in the Page area whose father worked at the plant. “It simply came to our notice then. You can see the fog a few miles outside. “

The coal in me was a major source of heat for homes in the area, and Attakai said the practice led to lung problems for his grandmother. After the closure of the Kayenta Mine last year, many families reported struggling to find an alternative source of heating.
The leaders of the Navajo and Hopi nations, who earned $ 50 million in royalties from operations, fought to keep the factory open through lawsuits, and the Navajo nation looked into purchasing the power plant. But in the end, the attempt to extend the life of the plant faced declining costs of renewable energy and cheap natural gas, economic trends that contributed to the closure of 49 coal-fired power plants in the West in 2010.

“All these people who watched this smoke coming down are part of its history,” said Calvin Bigman, another local who came out to see the demolition. “I’m not just here to follow the action; they grew up being supported by fathers and mothers who worked here. I know there’s a lot of history. I’m pretty sure I’m sad and they didn’t want to see this plant coming down. “

David Bigman, Calvin’s late father, helped build the factory in the 1970s and received a well-paid union job in an otherwise economically depressed area. Young Bigman worked at the plant for 30 years as an electrician and welder.

“I was hired to tear it down,” Bigman said, “but I didn’t want to be a part of it because I didn’t want to see it gone.”

He added that many of his friends had to sell their homes and move to Wyoming or Idaho to work in other coal-fired power plants. “It will change Page, which is also a tourist city,” Bigman said. “It will now have to rely on tourists to keep the place alive.”

(Zak Podmore | The Salt Lake Tribune) Calvin Bigman, former employee of the Navajo Generating Station, following the demolition of the factory on December 18, 2020.

But there are industrial alternatives that are currently being explored. Existing transmission lines and nearby Lake Powell could be used to develop a large-scale renewable energy project, which environmental groups have supported as part of a “fair transition” for the area.
The Los Angeles City Council, which owned a stake in the generating station, worked with Navajo President Jonathan Nez in February to fund a feasibility study for building solar and wind projects in the northwest corner of the nation. Navajo.
Nez was a supporter of renewable energy and a supporter of the 27.3-megawatt solar project owned and operated by tribes near Kayenta, which was completed in 2018 and could serve as a model for a larger project near Page.
In January, Daybreak Energy requested preliminary federal permits to develop a 2.2 gigawatt pumped hydroelectric storage project on Navajo land in Utah’s San Juan County. The $ 3.6 billion project could generate more than twice as much energy as the Glen Canyon Dam that forms Lake Powell. Solar and wind energy would be used to pump water into a storage tank that could then be run through turbines to provide a source of energy on demand, even when the sun is not shining or the wind is stopping.

However, permission for such a project could take years.

Whiterock, Attakai and Bigman said they support the construction of solar energy in the area, but wondered how many jobs such a project would create.

One criticism of the Navajo Generation Station, Bigman acknowledged, was that it exported energy to cities in Arizona, Nevada and California, while many Navajo homes still lack electricity. He hopes a solar project will address this issue as well.

Even with the sadness of closing the plant, which has supported his family for two generations, Bigman said it has other disadvantages.

“We extract so many minerals from the earth,” he said. “If you sit down and really think about it in your heart, it destroys the environment.”

Zak Podmore is a Report for America body member and writes about conflict and change in San Juan County for The Salt Lake Tribune. Your donation to match our RFA grant helps keep him or her writing stories like this; please consider making a deductible gift of any amount by clicking today here.

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