A look at coal-fired power plants set to close in US West

LECHEE, Ariz. (AP) - One of the largest coal-fired power plants in the U.S. West is shutting down by the end of the year in a region where unemployment is 50 percent or higher and Native American tribes depend on coal revenue to fund their governments.

The Navajo Generating Station near the Arizona-Utah border has been operating since the mid-1970s with hundreds of mostly Navajo workers. It also powered a canal system that sent Colorado River water to Arizona’s major metropolitan areas.

Here’s a look at the plant and others in the Southwest that plan to close as utilities increasingly turn to cheaper or renewable sources of energy:

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NAVAJO GENERATING STATION

Location: LeChee, Arizona, on the Navajo reservation

Output: One of three units shut down in September, leaving 1,500 megawatts

Owners: Salt River Project, U.S. Bureau of Reclamation, Arizona Public Service Co., NV Energy, Tucson Electric Power

Workforce: 500 before announcement of closure, more than 90% Navajo

Fuel source: Now-shuttered Kayenta Mine, coal jointly owned by Navajo and Hopi tribes

Planned closure: End of 2019

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FOUR CORNERS POWER PLANT

Location: Fruitland, New Mexico, on the Navajo reservation

Output: Three of five units shut down in 2014, leaving 1,540 megawatts

Owners: Arizona Public Service Co., Public Service Co. of New Mexico, Salt River Project, Navajo Nation, Tucson Electric Power

Workforce: About 325, more than 80% Native American

Fuel source: Navajo Mine, owned by the Navajo Nation

Planned closure: By 2038

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SAN JUAN GENERATING STATION

Location: Near Farmington, New Mexico

Output: Two of four units closed in 2017, leaving 924 megawatts

Owner: Public Service Co. of New Mexico

Workforce: About 200, 27% Navajo

Fuel source: San Juan Mine in northwestern New Mexico

Planned closure: 2022

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CHOLLA POWER PLANT

Location: Joseph City, Arizona

Output: One of four units shut down in 2015, leaving 782 megawatts

Owners: Arizona Public Service Co. and PacifiCorp

Workforce: About 200

Fuel source: El Segundo Mine in northwestern New Mexico

Planned closure: 2025

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CORONADO GENERATING STATION

Location: Near St. Johns, Arizona

Output: Two units, 773 megawatts

Owner: Salt River Project

Workforce: 200, about 10% Native American

Fuel source: Antelope Mine in Wyoming and Spring Creek Mine in Montana, delivered via rail line

Planned closure: Sometime in the next 15 years

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MOHAVE GENERATING STATION

Location: Laughlin, Nevada

Output: Two units, 1,580 megawatts

Owners: Southern California Edison, Salt River Project, NV Energy and Los Angeles Department of Water and Power

Workforce: 300

Fuel source: Now-shuttered Black Mesa Mine, coal jointly owned by Navajo and Hopi tribes

Shut down: 2005