When the lights start to dim or the TV won’t turn on,
some Navajos in Arizona know it’s time to drive to a gas station
and recharge the car battery. For the 10,000 people who live out of
range of the tribal utility’s powerlines, car batteries provide a
quick, though inconvenient, source of energy. But soon, 80 Navajo
households will use batteries that store power from the sun. The
Western Area Power Administration received a $300,000 federal grant
to install residential solar systems in cooperation with the Navajo
Tribal Utility Authority and Sandia National Laboratories. The
tribe has tried photovoltaic systems before on the
26,000-square-mile reservation, but ownership and maintenance
responsibilities were never spelled out, says WAPA manager Brian
Parry. Now, the Navajo utility plans to own and maintain the
photovoltaic panels and batteries, while storing equipment in a
separate shed at each dwelling. Navajo project coordinator Jimmie
Daniels says the solar project will save the utility money since
line extensions to rural customers can cost up to $100,000. Solar
hookups run around $3,000. In addition, Daniels says, the plan
gives Navajos a way to continue their traditional rural way of life
and “know what quiet means.” For information, call Jimmie Daniels
at 602/729-5721 or Brian Parry at
801/524-5067.
This article appeared in the print edition of the magazine with the headline A bright idea.
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