“On April 23, the Navajo Nation broke ground on its first utility-scale solar-energy production plant. Deenise Biscenti, public affairs director for the Navajo Tribal Utility Authority (NTUA), says that the solar farm is the tribe’s first move in a long-term strategy to establish a green economy. The Navajo Nation has not previously generated its own power. The Navajo Nation decided to build the solar farm itself rather than hire an outside company.

The Kayenta Solar Facility, located on 300 acres of tribal land south of Monument Valley, Arizona, will offer “some of the lowest consumer electric rates in the region,” a press release states. The $64 million, 27.5 megawatt (MW) project is being funded partly through federal loans and tax credits. Salt river Project, a Tempe, Arizona based utility, is partnering with NTUA in a  power purchasing agreement.

When completed by the end of 2016, the facility will be able to serve about 7,700 homes in New Mexico, Arizona and Utah. An estimated 18,000 Navajo homes are still not connected to the grid.

Another project, the Paragon-Bisti solar ranch, on 10,000 acres in New Mexico, is in the preconstruction phase, which includes recruiting solar developers, surveying and performing an environmental assessment.That project is on five sites that have been deemed suitable to host 2,100 MW of photovoltaic (PV) power.

Since 1998, through a rental program, the NTUA has installed 263 residential PV solar systems for Navajo families. NTUA has also begun offering solar-wind hybrid systems, financed at $75 per month toward the purchase price. The hybrid systems includes an 800-watt PV solar array, a 400-watt wind turbine and a battery for excess storage.”