{"id":591211,"date":"2018-06-11T16:45:40","date_gmt":"2018-06-11T22:45:40","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/nmpolitics.net\/index\/?p=591211"},"modified":"2018-06-11T14:58:49","modified_gmt":"2018-06-11T20:58:49","slug":"arizona-utility-chooses-solar-pushing-navajo-generating-station-closer-to-closure","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/nmpolitics.net\/index\/2018\/06\/arizona-utility-chooses-solar-pushing-navajo-generating-station-closer-to-closure\/","title":{"rendered":"Arizona utility chooses solar, pushing Navajo Generating Station closer to closure"},"content":{"rendered":"
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Alex \/ Creative Commons<\/p>

The Navajo Generating Station in Page, Arizona.<\/p><\/div>\n

In one of the latest bids to save the Navajo Generating Station, the West\u2019s largest coal-burning power plant, the Department of Interior has stepped in to try and stave off its closure. Last week, Timothy Petty, the Interior Department\u2019s assistant secretary for water and science, sent a letter to the Central Arizona Project, a regional water utility, pressuring it to continue purchasing electricity from the power plant, which is slated to close in 2019.<\/p>\n

In the past, the water project, which is operated by the Central Arizona Water Conservation District, has purchased most of its power from the generating station. However, with the impending closure of the plant, the utility began looking to new and cheaper energy sources, including renewables like solar. On Thursday, despite the Interior Department\u2019s recommendation, CAP\u2019s board voted to sign a 20-year power purchase agreement with a solar company.<\/p>\n