In a move being cheered by environmentalists, the Navajo Generating Station, a coal plant located in Northern Arizona, has been slated to close down in December of 2019.
The plant is being closed due to being edged out by cheaper natural gas.
“The company has an obligation to provide low-cost service to our more than 1 million customers and the higher cost of operating NGS would be borne by our customers,” said SRP Deputy General Manager Mike Hummel.
The owners are now working with the Navajo Nation to allow the plant to continue operating through 2019, then eventually remove the plant and pay for any needed environmental restoration of the land.
The Navajo Nation isn’t thrilled to see the plant go. They’d hoped it would continue operating through 2030 and now wants the White House to step in and help.
“We ask the Trump Administration to step in and see that NGS plant operations continue through 2014,”Navajo Nation President Russell Begaye said in a statement. “Many people depend on this industry.”
The closure will effect about 500 workers at the plant and another 325 at the Kayenta Mine, located about 80 miles away. The mine currently has no other customers.
