Black Mesa Trust Press Release
For immediate publication
For more information, contact Vernon Masayesva 928/255-2356
Solar Power is the Future for Hopi
KYKOTSMOVI, Ariz., Oct. 11 — During the California Public Utility Commission’s proceedings to determine the fate of Mohave Generating Station, Black Mesa Trust proposed that the Hopi Tribe and Navajo Nation each put a 500 MW solar power plant on Black Mesa.
“Up until now, our tribal leaders have refused to look seriously at a commercial solar plant to replace the electricity and tribal revenues,” said Black Mesa Trust Executive Director Vernon Masayesva.
“But contrary to what the Hopi Tribal leaders and attorneys–and Peabody Coal Co.–are saying about the relative costs of solar, this proposed project shows that solar generation is cost-effective,” he said.
What Black Mesa Trust is proposing, is a solar power facility that can deliver up to 1,000 MW of electricity during the peak or near-peak periods of the day – electricity that is very valuable to the utilities and rate payers. A 1,000 MW solar dish farm will produce an estimated 2.4 million MWh of electricity annually, the vast majority of which would be peak or near-peak load power sold to California, Arizona, Nevada and Utah markets.
The size of this plant (or plants) would be a little less than 5,000 acres or about 6+ square miles.
The cost of solar energy systems largely depends on the volume of production. For example, one dish could cost over $10,000 per kilowatt – about $250,000 per 25 KW dish. However, high volume manufacturing could reduce the cost of each dish system dramatically to below $2,000 per KW or about $30,000 per dish. Big difference!
This brings the cost of peak power generated from these dishes down to competitive levels with the power produced from clean coal-fired plants, natural gas powered plants, or virtually any other unsubsidized power generating facility. It will offset the loss of revenue that utilities have to absorb when they have no customers during off-peak periods.
Manufacturing, constructing, and operating this size solar generating facility will result in 1,200 construction jobs, and 250 permanent jobs. This will provide a significant financial boon to the Hopi and Navajo Tribes, and has a number of advantages, such as:
· The energy source is infinite compared to generating stations using coal, which is a finite resource.
· It is compatible with the Hopi view that we can enjoy benefits of modern society without degrading the environment.
· It will use very little water compared to the 1.4 billion gallons annually that Peabody was using before coal slurry was shut down.
· It will not be subject to future regulatory/environmental uncertainty, such as mercury emission regulations or carbon taxes;
· It is a renewable resource providing revenues for the foreseeable future, unlike the limited coal reserves;
· It will replace the current tribal royalties provided by Black Mesa Mine, and make Hopi and Navajo less dependent on Peabody.
· It will employ many more Hopis than are currently employed by Peabody;
· It will diversify the revenue base, which is one of the top priorities of the Hopi Tribe;
· It will not require daily destruction of the land and archaeological sites burial grounds caused by blasting to get at the coal seams. Peabody blasting continues non-stop during the month of December (Kyaamuya-Month of Respect) when Hopis are forbidden to disturb the earth.
Clean power production is becoming critical as states take into account the real costs of producing energy, using fossil fuels and are setting standards for their renewable energy portfolios. Arizona Corporation Commission, for example, set a standard of producing 15% of Arizona’s energy with renewables by the year 2025.
The Arizona Republic quoted former Governor Janet Napolitano on the value of renewable energy generation: “One hour’s worth of sunshine falling in just six square miles on a sunny day can power the entire state for a full day…. Currently, our energy situation is crutched upon non-renewable fuels like oil, gas and coal. Fortunately a different source of energy is making a comeback. With the help of modern technology, solar power holds the potential to bring Arizona electricity that is clean, renewable, abundant and reliable.”
“We have heard over and over again that coal is a cheap way to produce electricity. But until now the true costs of burning fossil fuels has been willfully ignored. Burning fossil fuels produces mercury, greenhouse gases such as carbon dioxide, which is a major contributor to global warming, and particulates, that cause asthma and other lung diseases,” said Masayesva.
“When these costs are taken into account, coal is actually the least cost-effective energy generation technology. In addition, coal power plants use excessive amounts of water.
Building solar power plants may be a little more expensive in the short term, but once all the costs of fossil fuel generation are taken into account, solar generation is among the least expensive options.
The Hopi people are saying, “Enough is enough.” We are no longer willing to squander our coal, our water, our health, and our culture to produce electricity for urban centers when other ways of producing that electricity are available and commercially viable and would provide significant revenues to the tribe.
Our elected representatives in tribal government and our attorneys need to stop acting as if they work for energy companies, but begin to put our peoples’ interests first,” concluded Masayesva.
For more information about Black Mesa Trust, visit www.BlackMesaTrust.org; or e-mail: kuuyi@aol.com
Solar Power is just incredible, me and my wife have recently just added 6 cells to our garage roof. This is used to power our boiler for our hot water. Were thinking of also getting some more storage batteries so we can power more of our home.