A September agreement between Arizona Public Service and the Navajo Transitional Energy Co. could keep the Four Corners Power Plant in northwestern New Mexico running until 2038, seven years beyond its planned 2031 retirement, The Arizona Republic reports.
The coal plant, on Navajo Nation land near Fruitland, has two units with a combined capacity of about 1,540 megawatts, and APS owns about 63%. Its operating permit runs through 2041, and retiring it would take about three years, leaving room for operations to continue past 2031.
APS has been reducing its reliance on coal but says Arizona’s electricity demand is rising quickly, driven by hotter summers, economic growth and large new users such as data centers. “Arizona’s energy needs are growing faster than at any time in our history,” APS spokesperson Casey Taggatz wrote in an email to the Republic. APS says any extension would come alongside more renewable energy and would not change its aspirational goal of carbon neutrality by 2050.
Keeping the plant open would preserve jobs and revenue for the Navajo Nation, whose Navajo Mine supplies the coal, but it would also mean more greenhouse gas emissions and water use than an earlier shutdown.
What's Next
APS will keep evaluating the plant's future through its integrated resource planning process, which includes an updated resource plan for state regulators and public meetings.
Why It Matters
Four Corners is the last coal plant in APS's portfolio, and the decision pits rising demand and cost against cleaner air and decarbonization goals.
About This Story
Daily Reports is Brant.One’s news roundup. Each day we gather the New Mexico stories worth knowing from newsrooms across the state, sum them up and point you to the source. This one comes from The Arizona Republic’s reporting, and their original story has the interviews and full details.
