Coal news and updates

New Mexico’s largest electric provider wants to transfer its share of a coal-fired power plant to an energy company backed by the Navajo Nation, but environmentalists argue that approving the deal would prolong the life of the plant and run counter to the state's renewable energy goals.

 

The state Public Regulation Commission will determine whether Public Service Co. of New Mexico's plan for Four Corners Power Plant is in the public interest during a two-week hearing that begins Tuesday. It heard from the public Monday.

 

Some of those who spoke at the virtual meeting Monday choked back tears when talking about pollution emitted by the plant over the decades, while others spoke about how their jobs at the power plant and coal mine helped to put their children through college.

 

Some tribal members told regulators that all levels of Navajo leadership are behind the proposal. They said allowing the Navajo Transitional Energy Co. — or NTEC — to take over the utility’s stake in Four Corners would provide more time for the tribe to find ways to deal with significant economic consequences that will come when the plant closes in 2031.

 

If regulators don’t approve PNM's plan, the Navajo Nation could lose up to $60 million annually, said LoRenzo Bates, former speaker of the Navajo Nation Council. The tribe is already struggling to absorb lost jobs and revenues after the closure of a coal-fired power plant in Arizona in 2019 and is bracing for the closure next year of the San Juan Generating Station in northwestern New Mexico.

 

Source : https://www.nhregister.com/news/article/New-Mexico-panel-considers-future-of-coal-fired-16423336.php