When Coalmine Canyon Chapter’s members first learned of the proposed Painted Desert Power project — one of the largest solar installations in the United States in terms of output and size — they were skeptical. The plan initially stated that it would cover roughly 1,000 acres of rangeland in solar panels, though it soon expanded to over 4,000 acres. But a long history of distrust of the tribal government and a sense of being disregarded by it left some community members anxious about the project.
“That made this whole project, as it kept progressing, more and more like we were being sold down the river. Or being taken advantage of, and not given any real voice,” said Tyrel Jones, the chapter’s Community Land Use Planning Committee secretary.
Freddie Hatathlie, a retired Army veteran, rancher and lifelong resident of Coalmine Canyon in northeast Arizona, said community members struggled to even picture a development that size, generating hundreds of megawatts of electricity. The technical presentations and explanations of the proposal, which were often in English, proved hard for many locals to follow.
“Make a model, draw models, build a model, so we can see it,” Hatathlie said. “The only way I understand is because I worked in a big power plant.”
As solar development expands, it’s exposing gaps in lease and tax policies, raising broader questions about how to ensure that benefits are distributed equitably across the Navajo Nation, as well as how information is communicated to residents. The Painted Desert Power project offers a glimpse into how large-scale renewable energy developments led by outside companies find ways to gain tribal approval.
RENEWABLE ENERGY DEVELOPMENT has become increasingly important since some of the tribe’s coal-related operations, which had provided significant revenue, closed. Existing solar projects currently occupy about 915 acres, with another 4,500 acres proposed for the Painted Desert Power project in Coalmine Canyon. While several of the existing projects were led by the Navajo Tribal Utility Authority, the Painted Desert Power project stood out for its scale and partnerships. Navajo Power PBC, a Navajo-owned, non-tribal-affiliated organization that works to bring renewable energy to tribal communities, partnered with Applied Energy Services (AES), the Virginia-based energy company that would own and operate the facility, to form the subsidiary, Painted Desert Power LLC.
The proposed solar project was developed by Navajo Power PBC. Navajo Power PBC did not respond to HCN’s inquiries, but AES replied on the project’s behalf. In an email, the project team told HCN that it held more than 70 chapter and community meetings before the lease received tribal approval. The project also secured four chapter resolutions of support, along with written consent from affected grazing-permit holders, as required under the Navajo leasing regulations.
“At AES, we understand that our success as a company is only as strong as our partnerships with the communities where we operate. Community consent is at the core of AES and Navajo Power PBC’s approach to development on the Navajo Nation,” the email read.
“If you look at the Navajo Generating Station over there in Page, you know that generating station didn’t power Page at all. Zero.”
Despite the company’s assurances, though, many of the people living closest to the development were left feeling unclear about exactly what was being proposed, how the project would operate and what it would mean for their community.
Jones noted that the project’s rapid expansion — it’s currently over 4,000 acres — had changed the conversation within the community about who would ultimately benefit from it.
“This large U.S. global company called AES that has no affiliation ever with the Navajo Nation comes into the Navajo Nation, making these demands and offering all of this power that they will solely control,” he said. “It’s just another example of a Trojan horse after another Trojan horse after another Trojan horse — which eventually we will have no say-so over any of these major promised entities.”
Jones said the proposal was first presented back during the COVID-19 pandemic’s early stages, and chapter members initially saw little formal paperwork, only pamphlets with some general bullet points. The amount of acreage and vague references to other organizations raised questions about exactly who was really involved in the project, how large it would become and why its footprint kept growing.
Hatathlie added that residents were troubled by how the power would be distributed, since it would not flow directly to area homes but would instead be sent to a broader electrical grid.
Arlando Yellowhair, a veteran who received a mobile home without water or electricity, said that Navajo Power Home’s discounted $20/month plan provided enough power for his refrigerator and a few lights while he waited for a grid hookup. The unit now powers a shed where he stores tools and charges batteries for his power tools. Christopher Lomahquahu/High Country News
He likened the Painted Desert Power project to the former Navajo Generating Station, a coal plant on the Navajo Nation that produced electricity that powered cities outside the nation.
“If you look at the Navajo Generating Station over there in Page, you know that generating station didn’t power Page at all,” Hatathlie said. “Zero.”
AES acknowledged that the Painted Desert Power project would not power any local Navajo homes.
“Since this high-voltage project is not a registered utility in Arizona and cannot serve homes directly, Navajo Power PBC co-created a subsidiary, Navajo Power Home, to meet Navajo households’ immediate need for electricity,” according to AES’ statement.
Navajo Power Home, the subsidiary, installs off-grid solar installations for individual homes, so AES saw it as a way to supply the community’s electricity needs. According to AES, Navajo Power Home has installed more than 550 off-grid solar systems across the Navajo Nation, including more than 80 in the Cameron and Coalmine Canyon chapters. Another 300 installations are planned by the end of this year.
One recipient of a Navajo Power Home solar unit — Coalmine Canyon resident and Navy veteran Arlando Yellowhair — said the unit provided just enough electricity to run his refrigerator and a couple of lights throughout the day.
“Eight kilowatts is not sufficient for a family to function without being aware of how much you’re using. You really have to pay attention to the amount that you’re using,” Yellowhair said.
The Painted Desert Power project is expected to be built out in phases, with construction on the first phase anticipated to begin in 2027 and the facility becoming operational by 2030. Once the project is completed, it will “utilize 1,363,635 solar panels and 816 battery enclosures,” underscoring its massive scale, according to AES’ statement.
“Eight kilowatts is not sufficient for a family to function. You really have to pay attention to the amount that you’re using.”
Other questions have been raised about the project. Uncertainty remains over how — and whether — AES’ lease payments and tax revenues would reach the community. Coalmine Canyon Chapter’s status as an uncertified chapter complicates how funds are distributed, and AES leases Navajo Nation trust land as well as individual grazing permits held by people in the area.
According to AES, under its lease with the Navajo Nation, the financial arrangements behind the Painted Desert Power project would pay the nation $545 per acre each year, with payments increasing by 2% annually over the life of the project. Over its 40-year lifespan, AES estimates the project would generate more than $310 million in lease and tax payments. AES stated that it agreed to the lease amount with the Navajo Nation Minerals Department along with a “competitive tax package.”
AES added that there were additional community benefits, including a commitment the company has made of “$16.7 million per Chapter over project lifetime,” noting that its “annual payments would more than double the Chapter’s FY26 budget.” However, it remains unclear whether individual residents will receive any compensation. Because the Coalmine Canyon Chapter is uncertified, for example, project payments might not go directly to it. Instead, revenue would be routed through the Navajo Nation Office of the Controller in Window Rock.
Much of this information was shared with residents in a 60-slide Powerpoint presentation over a two-day period. But Hatathlie said that the developers often relied on technical presentations and industry terminology, much of it presented in English. Although developers continued to host workshops and informational meetings, Hatathlie came to feel that key decisions had already been made by the larger Navajo government, without meaningful local input.
THE SENSE OF AMBIGUITY was reinforced by the Coalmine Canyon Chapter’s uncertified status. Coalmine Canyon is what’s considered a Non-Governance Certified Chapter, meaning a chapter that is not able to manage its finances on its own. Instead, its finances go through the Navajo Nation Administrative Service Centers. Certified chapters, once they demonstrate they can manage their finances on their own, can expand “authorities including issuing business site leases, leasing chapter property, entering contracts with tribal, federal, and state governments, hiring legal counsel, appropriating funds, and generating revenue.”
But Coalmine Canyon, according to Coalmine Canyon Chapter Grazing Official Shaun Hudson, may not directly receive any financial benefits from the solar project.
“So certified chapters, they have more freedom to, I guess, utilize their money … with outside entities,” Hudson said.
The situation highlighted how difficult Navajo Nation legislative procedures can be for residents to follow. Leases, tax measures and project approvals often move through a variety of committees and stages of review before reaching final action.
Shawna Claw, Chinle Council delegate and member of the Navajo Nation Resource and Development Committee, said this legislative complexity sowed a lot of confusion. After the leasing process, for example, some residents worried that their grazing permits were being obtained without their consent. She said many Coalmine residents tied their concerns about grazing permits, consent and land-use agreements to another measure involving the project’s tax structure, even though those issues should have been raised in the separate lease approval process.
“A lot of the community members got that confused with the lease,” Claw said. “And so they started putting in comments about, well, ‘My consent, or my consent wasn’t given.’”
According to the Navajo Nation’s legislation on the project’s tax arrangement, chapter residents submitted letters asking for their grazing permits to be rescinded because they did not want their permits used for the solar project.
Claw said residents who believe grazing permits were obtained for the project without their consent can file appeals through the Navajo Nation Department of Agriculture and request an independent review of how consent was obtained. But she added that many residents may not even be aware that these procedures exist, particularly in remote communities where access to information can be limited.
All the discussions surrounding the Painted Desert Power project have drawn attention to much broader questions about how renewable energy projects are regulated on the Navajo Nation. Jones said tribal leaders are still working through how large-scale solar developments should be taxed and governed because the Navajo Nation has yet to establish a comprehensive renewable energy policy framework.
Former Navajo Nation Council Delegate Thomas Walker Jr., who represented the Leupp, Tolani Lake, Coalmine Canyon, Cameron and Birdsprings chapters, said the system, a comprehensive land-leasing, legislative and review process, was designed to give all stakeholders a role in the review process.
“If the processes are allowed to be utilized without any shortcuts … if it’s allowed to run its course all the way through, and you know our leaders are there to consider if they’re fully informed and if they have absolutely no questions … then they vote on it,” he said. “If there’s people sidestepping that, or taking shortcuts, or even missing steps, I think community and the public deserve to know what happened.”
Walker said that residents should be able to question whether every step, review and approval has been completed as required under Navajo law, especially when projects involve such large-scale use of tribal land.
However, for Coalmine Canyon residents like Hudson, the grazing official, asking questions can sometimes feel pointless, especially when the local communities already feel slighted.
“I think a lot of these decisions are already pre-made in Window Rock (the Navajo Nation’s capital),” he said. “So right now, yeah, these developers, they come in just to follow procedure, you know, just to show their place. So, it doesn’t matter.”
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This article appeared in the September 2026 print edition of the magazine with the headline “Solar skepticism on the Navajo Nation.”
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