Energy Services Bulletihttp://www.wapa.gov/esaug046.htmet" href="esb.css"> </head> <body bgcolor="white" link="red" vlink="#003366"> <div align="center"> <table width="100%" border="0" cellpadding="2" cellspacing="0"> <tr> <td width="60%" valign="top" align="left"><span class="subhead">Energy Services Bulletin, Vol. 23 No. 4, August 2004</span></td> </tr> <tr align="center"> <td width="60%" valign="top" align="left"> <table border="0" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="2" width="100%"> <tr> <td width="96%"> <div align="right"> <span class="text"><a href="aug045.htm">Return to article<br> </a></span></div> </td> </tr> <tr> <td width="96%"> <div align="left"> <p class="headline">Sun and wind electrify Navajo Nation<br> </p> <p class="text">Combining the age-old tradition of living off the land with 21st century technology, the <a href="http://www.ntua.com/">Navajo Tribal Utility Authority</a> recently completed a renewable energy and distributed generation project that is producing electricity for remote households on the Navajo nation.<br> </p> <p class="text">A Western customer since the 1980s, NTUA provides utility services to the Navajo people living on 25,000 square miles spread across northeastern Arizona, northwestern New Mexico, and southeastern Utah. The project built and installed 63 new wind-solar hybrid systems to bring power to some of the nation's nearly 18,000 families living beyond the grid. "A lot of those people are five to seven miles from the nearest power line and the cost of running a line starts at $27,000 per mile," said Renewable Energy Specialist <a href="mailto:larrya@ntua.com">Larry Ahasteen</a>. "Mother Nature gave us a more affordable option." <br> </p> <p class="text">The Department of Energy also recognized the opportunity and launched the Navajo Electrification Demonstration Project in 2002. NTUA received a $2.8 million grant and electrified 550 Navajo homes for the first time. The next year, the DOE awarded the Navajo Nation an additional $2.3 million. Families using the hybrid units pay NTUA only a monthly maintenance fee of $75.<br> <br> </p> <p><span class="subhead">Project provides solar training for NTUA personnel</span><br> </p> <p class="text">An early plan to build hybrid LP gas generators fell through when the systems turned out to require too much maintenance. "The gas generators couldn't withstand the desert conditions," explained Ahasteen. "We had to find something that was more reliable."<br> </p> <p class="text">Wind and solar power seemed to offer that reliability, so the tribe issued a request for proposals and invited vendors to Albuquerque. "We made a presentation, explaining what we wanted from the project," Ahasteen recalled.<br> </p> <p class="text"> Specifically, NTUA wanted the systems to be built on the reservation, using Navajo labor to integrate the units and complete the inspection criteria. Since NTUA electricians had not worked with solar technology before, the vendor would have to provide classroom and hands-on training as well.<br> </p> <p class="text"> The selection committee, which included Navajo Economic Development officials and representatives from <a href="http://www.sandia.gov/">Sandia National Laboratories</a>, eventually chose <a href="http://www.sunwize.com/">Sunwize Technologies</a> to design the system and train NTUA staff. Solar component maker <a href="http://www.morningstarcorp.com/">Morningstar Corporation</a>, Rolls Battery Company, Southwest Windpower and SNL also participated in the training program. "We now have 16 fully qualified solar electricians doing installation, deployment, monitoring and maintenance," Ahasteen said proudly. "A lot of them have learned to design systems, too."<br> </p> <p class="text"> Assembled in Ft. Defiance, Ariz., the systems consist of eight solar panels in an 880-watt array, a 400-watt Air-X turbine, and four 6-volt, 770-amp-hour batteries in series to create a 24-VDC configuration. The PV array generates a minimum of two kWh per day and the battery bank can operate an air-conditioning load for five days without recharging. A meter installed inside the home allows homeowners to monitor the battery charge.<br> </p> <p class="text">An important feature of the hybrid system is its portability. The systems are built on steel modulars that electricians can pick up and move to new locations as needed. Not that NTUA has been moving many systems, added Ahasteen. "Families have been really happy with their new power supplies."<br> </p> <p class="text"> <br> </p> <p><span class="subhead">Utility's future in greater energy efficiency, more renewables <br> </span></p> <p class="text">The next step, said Ahasteen, will be teaching homeowners to get the most out of their systems. "At 2 kWh per day, these are not powerful generators," he noted. "There are a lot of simple and inexpensive measures people can take, like compact fluorescent bulbs, for instance, to use energy more efficiently."<br> </p> <p class="text">The utility would also like to expand its use of renewables to technologies like biomass and fuel cells. "Big powerplants on the reservation may create jobs and pay royalties to the tribe, but we still have to buy our electricity," said Ahasteen. "Renewable systems produce energy on the reservation for the people who live here."<br> </p> <p class="text">In the near term, wind shows the most promise. Maps from <a href="http://www.nrel.gov">National Renewable Energy Laboratory</a> and anemometers borrowed from <a href="http://www.wapa.gov/es/loan/default.htm">Western's Equipment Loan Program</a> indicate the nation's Class 2 to Class 4 wind resources could support larger turbines. With two more anemometers from Northern Arizona University, NTUA is assessing several potential sites throughout its territory.<br> </p> <p class="text">The day may even come when the Navajo Nation can produce enough renewable energy to sell. But for now, Ahasteen said, "We see renewable systems mainly as an opportunity to bring electricity to remote areas. Our mission, above all, is to provide quality utility services to our customers."<br> </p> <p class="text"></p> <p class="text"></p> <p class="text"></p> </div> </td> </tr> </table> </td> </tr> </table> </div> </body> </html>