Aftera brief period of hopethat it could be kept alive longer , thelargest coal plantin the West is once again on track keep out down at the end of 2019 .
The Navajo Nation , which is counting on the Navajo Generating Station ( NGS ) in Arizona to stay open , found potential buyersfor the doomed facility back in July . However , those negotiation appeared to have failed because the two companies involved — New York - base Avenue Capital and Chicago - based Middle River Power — announcedthey were giving up Thursday .
The facility ’s utility owners foretell last year they ’d continue to feed the plant until the end of 2019 upon get hold of a letting understanding with the Navajo Nation and Hopi Tribe , whose peoples areheavily employedby both the plant and the coal mine supplying it . After 2019 , new possessor need to come in — or the plant will close up for estimable . determination said proprietor has n’t proven easy , and the process has been full of drama - filledlawsuitsandcongressional hearings .
But Native American group are n’t yet ready to give up .
“ The Navajo Nation is balance to pursue other viable options to allow for the prolongation of the Navajo Generating Station beyond 2019 , ” said Navajo Nation Council Speaker LoRenzo Bates , in a statement published on Facebook .
The reality is that ember ca n’t keep up in an geezerhood where natural gas is cheap and the price ofrenewablesfalling rapidly . That ’s why utility owners to want shutter the operation in the first place .
The potential young buyers , meanwhile , could n’t detect anyone who ’d institutionalise to bribe the coal - powered energy that comes from NGS , report the Associated Press . Without that , the companies could n’t begin a right environmental critique , and they just were n’t willing to take the peril playing the wait game .
“ We have reason , unfortunately , that the footmark want to alleviate our possession and operation of NGS are no longer possible within the requisite timeframe , ” the companies publish in a letter to the Navajo Nation , per the AP .
Perhaps now is the time for these tribes to focus their Energy Department on other fashion to advance their saving . That conclusion , however , is ultimately up to them . Coal do withhealth costsassociated with its befoulment - filled combustion and toxic dissipation , but that ’s a bill some may be unforced to foot .
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