The Water Information Program

While Desert Rock proponents tick away the days on a threatened lawsuit against the Environmental Protection Agency, opponents are also saying that time may be running out for the massive proposed power plant. Among the stumbling blocks still facing developers of the coal-fired power plant planned on Navajo land hear Shiprock, are more than a dozen federal permits, including the long overdue air quality permit from the EPA, as well as a record of decision on the environmental impact statement, the draft of which was released in June 2007. Meanwhile, opponents charge, costs for the proposed 1,500-megawatt facility, pegged at $1.5 billion in 2005, continue to balloon, now hovering at heights of $3.6 billion. “Desert Rock’s developers always spoke of the immense need for the plant’s electricity and the immense need for the Navajo Nation to have a project that makes sense,” said Mike Eisenfeld, New Mexico energy coordinator for the San Juan Citizens Alliance. “But this may not be the money-making venture that they think it is.” In addition to skyrocketing construction costs, Eisenfeld said that Desert Rock partners Sithe Global and the Dine Power Authority may be facing the possibility of carbon taxes in the not-too distant future. Under the Bush administration, such a program, which would impose a fee on carbon dioxide producers, has been brushed under the carpet, he said. However, with the impending regime change in Washington next year, such a program could become reality. “We are talking about a fine of anywhere from $10 to $100 per ton of CO2 emitted,” said Eisenfeld. According to Sithe Global’s estimates, Desert Rock is expected to emit 12.7 million tons of carbon dioxide a year. A carbon tax could translate to as much as a 50 percent jump in electricity prices, with either the Navajo Nation, as operator of the plant, or utility consumers picking up the tab. “The difference will be passed on to consumers or the Navajo Nation, which would lose its potential profits,” Eisenfeld said. In addition, Eisenfeld casts doubt on whether the local aquifer will be able to supply the 5,000 acre-feet of water a year required for the project.

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