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FLAGSTAFF, Arizona — More than 10,000 homes across the Navajo Nation and Hopi Reservation lack a connection to the power grid, requiring many to tap gas-fueled generators, flashlights and kerosene lamps to fill the void.
Some in the area where southeastern Utah, northeastern Arizona and northwestern New Mexico meet have been waiting 20 years for a connection, said Chelsea Chee, deputy director of Native Renewables, a nonprofit entity focused on augmenting energy access to Native American communities. In a bid to chip away at the problem, though, 300 homes in the Navajo Nation and the Hopi Reservation are now in line to get off-grid solar energy access thanks to $8 million in federal funds preliminarily earmarked for the Flagstaff, Arizona-based operation.
"It's a big deal on multiple levels," Chee said. Native Renewables — which focuses its efforts on the Navajo and Hopi communities — is aiming to bring power to 100 homes a year through its stand-alone solar systems, and the federal funding, subject to final negotiation, edges it closer to "the dream."
The 300 homes have yet to be selected, but they will be scattered throughout the Navajo Nation and the Hopi Reservation, which sits within the Arizona segment of the Navajo Nation. Native Renewables must come up with a $2 million match to the $8 million in U.S. Department of Energy money — a fraction of the $366 million in funding announced last week for 17 projects nationwide — but Chee thinks that's doable.
"We have some really good partners, so we are on track for that," she said.
Broadly, the systems, free to the recipients, will be targeted to those who live furthest from the energy grid. They are meant to address critical needs — powering lights and energy-efficient refrigerators and enabling the charging of telephones and other communication devices.
Native Renewables would tap the power of the sun via solar photovoltaic technology — that is, solar panels. Each recipient home in the sun-drenched area would get a 2.5-kilowatt system complete with a battery to store excess energy. The 300 systems would be installed over five years; the first, Chee hopes, by the end of 2024.
"Connecting a rural Navajo and Hopi home to the electric grid can be costly and can take several years until the home is electrified," the Department of Energy's Office of Clean Energy Demonstrations said in announcing the funding for the project and 16 others last week. "Consequently, many of these families currently rely on kerosene and propane lanterns and gasoline generators. These families can spend up to 50% of their income on energy expenses."
The $366 million in Department of Energy funds, much of it geared to Native American and Alaska Native communities, would impact 30 tribal nations and communities across the country, according to the Office of Clean Energy Demonstrations.
"It's very exciting, and it's pretty historic in the larger scheme of things, as well," Chee said.
The 300 homes to get Native Renewables systems represent just a fraction of the 10,000-plus homes in the Navajo Nation and Hopi Reservation that lack access to the power grid. Broadening the effort to encompass more homes will take "a multifaceted effort," Chee said.
Within the five agencies of the Navajo Nation, lack of electrification is most pronounced in East Navajo, where 30% of homes lack a connection to the power grid. The figure is 25% in Shiprock and Chinle, 20% in West Navajo and 11% in Fort Defiance. In the Hopi Reservation, 10% of homes lack electrification, according to Native Renewables figures.
