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Fueling the divide: Coal’s grip on the Navajo Nation

Fueling the divide: Coal’s grip on the Navajo Nation

NENAHNEZAD, N.M.

As daylight faded across the northwestern edge of New Mexico, the silhouette of a dragline excavator loomed over a barren plateau near the San Juan River. The towering machine, lit by the faint glow of safety lights, clawed at the earth, drawing out coal that still fuels one of the Southwest’s last remaining coal-burning power plants: the Four Corners Power Plant.

Fueling the divide: Coal’s grip on the Navajo Nation

Special to the Times | Donovan Quintero
Shiprock farmer Eleanor Smith speaks out on Executive Order 14241 during a June 19 public hearing at Niinahnízaad Chapter.

Just south of the plant, long ridges of mined coal lay stacked like dark waves frozen in motion, stretching toward the horizon. Despite national and regional shifts away from fossil fuels, the steady scraping and hauling of coal in this corner of the Navajo Nation continues.

Fueling the divide: Coal’s grip on the Navajo Nation

Special to the Times | Donovan Quintero
Mike Dan shares his views on Executive Order 14241, “Reinvigorating America’s Beautiful Clean Coal Industry,” during a June 19 public hearing at Niinahnízaad Chapter hosted by the 25th Navajo Nation Council.

Operated by Arizona Public Service Co., the Four Corners Power Plant draws its fuel directly from the adjacent Navajo Mine, owned by the Navajo Transitional Energy Company. In 2018, NTEC acquired a 7% ownership stake in Units 4 and 5 of the plant, marking the first time a Navajo enterprise held an equity share in a coal-fired facility. The mine and the plant employ more than 220 Navajo Nation residents and generate an estimated $59 million annually for the tribal economy.

Fueling the divide: Coal’s grip on the Navajo Nation

Special to the Times | Donovan Quintero
The Four Corners Power Plant stands against the Carrizo Mountain near Farmington. Despite national shifts away from coal, the plant continues to operate as one of the Southwest’s last coal-burning facilities.

To read the full article, please see the June 26, 2025, edition of the Navajo Times.

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About The Author

Donovan Quintero

"Dii, Diné bi Naaltsoos wolyéhíígíí, ninaaltsoos át'é. Nihi cheii dóó nihi másání ádaaní: Nihi Diné Bizaad bił ninhi't'eelyá áádóó t'áá háadida nihizaad nihił ch'aawóle'lágo. Nihi bee haz'áanii at'é, nihisin at'é, nihi hózhǫ́ǫ́jí at'é, nihi 'ach'ą́ą́h naagééh at'é. Dilkǫǫho saad bee yájíłti', k'ídahoneezláo saad bee yájíłti', ą́ą́ chánahgo saad bee yájíłti', diits'a'go saad bee yájíłti', nabik'íyájíłti' baa yájíłti', bich'į' yájíłti', hach'į' yándaałti', diné k'ehgo bik'izhdiitįįh. This is the belief I do my best to follow when I am writing Diné-related stories and photographing our events, games and news. Ahxéhee', shik'éí dóó shidine'é." - Donovan Quintero, an award-winning Diné journalist, served as a photographer, reporter and as assistant editor of the Navajo Times until March 17, 2023.

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