Featured in Embracing change – 02-2024

Energy sovereignty

Native American lands boast serious PV potential in the United States but getting projects off the ground hasn‘t always been easy. Different tribes are willing to take power generation into their own hands and the landscape could be shifting, thanks to funding from the US Inflation Reduction Act (IRA) and other programs.

By

Matthew Lynas

08 Feb 2024

The Kayenta solar plant generates power in a region that previously provided coal for the decommissioned Navajo Generating Station. | Photo: Solv Energy

In December 2020, the smokestacks of Navajo Generating Station (NGS) tumbled. The 2.25 GW coal-fired power plant had provided electricity to customers in Arizona, Nevada, and California. The closure caused hundreds of job losses.For more than 40 years, NGS was fueled by coal mined on Navajo Nation – the largest Native American reservation in the …

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