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Coal industry on Navajo Nation could end with plant closure

Ross D. Franklin/AP

FILE - In this Sept. 4, 2011, file photo, smoke rises from the stacks of the main plant facility at the Navajo Generating Station, as seen from Lake Powell in Page, Ariz. The Navajo Nation company has ended its pursuit of a coal-fired power plant on the reservation and the mine that feeds it. The decision Friday, March 22, 2019 means the Navajo Generating Station and the Kayenta Mine will close this year, ending decades of operation in northeastern Arizona. The bid by the Navajo Transitional Energy Company had been considered a long-shot. (AP Photo/Ross D. Franklin, File)

By: Associated Press

Posted at 9:57 AM, Jan 25, 2020

and last updated 2020-01-25 11:57:50-05

FLAGSTAFF, Ariz. (AP) — The closure of a coal-fired power plant on the Navajo Nation sooner than expected will be a major blow to a region where coal has been a mainstay of the economy for decades.

The Arizona Public Service Co. operates the Four Corners Power Plant near Farmington, New Mexico.

The utility announced this week it will close the plant in 2031, several years earlier than expected.

Regional officials say they're more focused now on promoting tourism and recreation, and ensuring the area has internet and other infrastructure to draw businesses.

Another coal plant just miles away is set to close in 2022.

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Coal industry on Navajo Nation could end with plant closure

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