The proposed Desert Rock Power Plant is a 1,500 megawatt coal-fired power plant proposed by Sithe Global Power, LLC in Burnham on the Navajo Nation. It would be located approximately 30 miles southwest of Farmington, New Mexico. Please join us and our broad coalition of groups and individuals concerned about public health and the economic /environmental future of the Four Corners!

What’s wrong with adding another power plant?

• As state, regional and global initiatives are being put in place to reduce carbon dioxide, CO2, emissions, Desert Rock would have the second largest CO2 emissions the western U.S., at 12.7 million tons of CO2 (in addition to the 29 million tons from the two current power plants).
• Coal, even “clean coal” just is not very clean, especially to an already polluted air shed.
• New Mexico has the highest concentration of airborne mercury in the country, and Desert Rock is projected to add as much as 500 pound per year.
• Projections show that air pollution will continue to increase for the next 15 years in the Four Corners region (even without adding Desert Rock to the mix). We certainly don’t need more.

At least one more coal-fired plant proposed for western Kansas.
To satisfy peak demands, Tri-State Generation is proposing a 700 MW coal plant that will contribute 6 millions tons of CO2, and provide a surplus of electricity. There are better solutions, including energy efficiency measures and renewable sources. NREL, the National Renewable Energy Lab, found that the cumulative results for landowners and job creation makes wind power more economically feasible than coal or natural gas in Colorado.

Nitrogen oxide (NOx) pollution from the oil and gas industry is expected to double over the next 15 years, and volatile organic compounds (VOCs) are expected to increase by 50%, according to the BLM’s Resource Management Plan released in 2003. With oil and gas expansion, the local industry will emit over 70,000 tons per year of NOx. Just how much NOx is that? 7 million cars worth. Learn more about how oil and gas affects our air quality, what the and what you can do about it.

San Juan Citizens Alliance has been an active member of the Four Corners Air Quality Task force since it’s inception a few years ago. The States of New Mexico and Colorado have convened an Air Quality Task Force to work on the air quality issues and challenges facing the Four Corners region. [more]