In July 2018, NTEC acquired a seven-percent ownership interest in units four and five of the Four Corners Power Plant (FCPP). As a result of the transaction, NTEC became an owner of a coal-fired power plant, a first for a Navajo Nation enterprise. Concurrent with NTEC’s purchase of the FCPP interest, NTEC and Arizona Public Service Company (APS) also entered into an amended and restated coal supply agreement, which governs FCPP fuel purchases from NTEC. The amended and restated coal supply agreement provides NTEC with more flexibility in the sale and purchase of coal from NTEC’s Navajo Mine.
In October of 2024, NTEC won a $6.5 million award from the U.S. Department of Energy’s Office of Clean Energy Demonstrations for a Front-End Engineering Design (FEED) study to determine the feasibility of adding carbon capture to FCPP. This study will examine the environmental, social, financial, and engineering impacts of carbon capture on FCPP the surrounding communities. If favorable, adding amine-based post combustion carbon capture technology will make FCPP one of the first plants in U.S. and put the Navajo Nation on the path to energy leadership. To learn more about the grant and carbon capture, click here.