Navajo finally getting electricity

Posted: Friday, January 21, 2011 5:00 am | Updated: 7:20 am, Sun Jan 23, 2011.

Elsa Johnson, Leupp

To the Editor:

Nowhere in America are there more people without electricity than on tribal lands. Despite the fact that the Navajo and Hopi tribes are the major electricity producers for the entire Southwest, nearly 18,000 rural Navajo homes do not have electrification or basic human services.

In response, Navajo non-profit IINA Solutions along with international solar specialist Mark Snyder with Electric and Global Solar Water Power Systems established the Plateau Solar Project to bring solar electricity to rural Native elders and prioritize residents in northern Arizona and northwestern New Mexico. With funds from the Renewable Energy Investment Fund (REIF) and the Grand Canyon Trust, Phase One of the Plateau Solar Project commences on the evening of January 16, 2011 with a 2 Kilowatt solar installation at the home of Paula Curtis at Leupp (northwest of Winslow).

Mrs. Curtis, a single parent with six children who lives in the rural Canyon Diablo area of Leupp Navajo Chapter, is one of two underprivileged Navajo residents who qualified for a demonstration solar unit fully funded by Renewable Energy Investment Fund.

Elsa Johnson, Leupp