Monitor follow-up: New Mexico coal plant set back
A proposed 'dirty' power plant loses support in New Mexico – for now.
By Moises Velasquez-Manoff | Correspondent of The Christian Science Monitorfrom the May 3, 2007 edition
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In a Feb. 22 article, the Monitor reported on the proposed Desert Rock coal-fired power plant in the northwestern corner of New Mexico. Sited on Navajo Nation land and supported by the elected Navajo government, the project had encountered stiff resistance from members of the Navajo community and other nearby groups worried about pollution and, in the grander scheme, carbon-dioxide emissions.
In March, a New Mexico House committee voted 7 to 6 not to grant an $85 million state tax credit to Sithe Global Power LLC and the Diné Power Authority, partners in the power-plant project. Although this isn't a deathblow for the $2.5 billion development, the vote, which came at the close of this year's 60-day legislative session, is a setback, says Sithe Global spokesman Frank Maisano.
"Anything that makes the project less competitive is not helpful," he says.
The vote to "table" the bill – put it aside until the relevant committee meets next year – offers a glimpse into how the evolving national debate over greenhouse gases, the burning of fossil fuels, and the next generation of coal-fired plants may play out on a local level.
"We were able to send a very strong signal that the state of New Mexico is not interested in subsidizing old-fashioned coal technology," says Peter Wirth, a New Mexico state representative from Santa Fe who opposed the project from the outset.
The legislative session took place amid intense lobbying from all sides. Supporters continuously reminded lawmakers that the project would bring revenue to New Mexico and jobs to an underdeveloped region. But a variety of factors may have tipped the scales against Desert Rock. On several occasions, Navajo protesters loaded into vans and made the nearly 250-mile drive from their territory to the state capital in Santa Fe to demonstrate against the project. And the national discussion about fossil-fuel emissions and their role in climate change continually framed a project that will emit an estimated 10,500 tons of CO2 into the atmosphere each year.
Proponents, including the elected Navajo Nation president, Joe Shirley Jr., and the majority of Tribal Council members, maintain that Desert Rock will bring much-needed jobs and economic development to an area of chronic unemployment. "When built, it'll be the largest construction project anywhere in native America," says George Hardeen, spokesman for president Joe Shirley. "The good far outweighs the bad."
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