The Closure of the Navajo Generating Station

This case deals with responsible business and the impact of firm actions on different stakeholders. In November 2019 the last operating units of the Navajo Generating Station (NGS) in Page, Arizona, were shut down. The plant was losing money and was no longer economically viable or necessary for Arizona's power grid. As the largest coal-fired power plant west of the Mississippi and one of the largest emitters of carbon dioxide (CO2) in the continental United States, the closure was seen by many environmental groups as a success for sustainability and climate change. For the communities that depended on the plant and associated coal mine for jobs and taxes, the impact of the plant closure was less positive. Although the air would be cleaner and water resources better protected, the plant and mine closures meant that the Navajo Nation and Hopi Tribe faced large cutbacks in their budgets. The plant and mine workers, almost all Native American, lost their jobs. The closure left a legacy of health issues on the reservations and unknown environmental issues from the abandoned coal mine.