The Four Corners Generating Station is a 1,540 megawatt coal-fired
power plant
A power station, also referred to as a power plant and sometimes generating station or generating plant, is an industrial facility for the generation of electric power. Power stations are generally connected to an electrical grid.
Many ...
located near
Fruitland, New Mexico
Fruitland is an unincorporated community in San Juan County, New Mexico, United States, on the north side of the San Juan River. It is immediately west of central Kirtland and north across the river from the Navajo Nation and Upper Fruitland. F ...
, on property located on the
Navajo Nation
The Navajo Nation ( nv, Naabeehó Bináhásdzo), also known as Navajoland, is a Native Americans in the United States, Native American Indian reservation, reservation in the United States. It occupies portions of northeastern Arizona, northwe ...
that is leased from the Navajo Nation government.
Description
The
Four Corners
The Four Corners is a region of the Southwestern United States consisting of the southwestern corner of Colorado, southeastern corner of Utah, northeastern corner of Arizona, and northwestern corner of New Mexico. The Four Corners area ...
Generating Station originally consisted of five units with a total rated generating capacity of about 2,040 megawatts. Units 1, 2, and 3 (permanently shut down in 2014 as part of a $182 million plan for Arizona Public Service Co. to meet environmental regulations)
had a combined generating capacity of 560 megawatts while units 4 and 5 each have a generating capacity of 770 MW. Units 1, 2 and 3 opened in 1963–64 and Units 4 and 5 opened in 1969–70.
The
Arizona Public Service Company (APS) owned 100% of Units 1, 2, and 3, while Units 4 and 5 are operated by APS but owned by around five companies, with APS owning 70% in 2014,
Public Service Company of New Mexico 13%,
Salt River Project
The Salt River Project (SRP) is the umbrella name for two separate entities: the Salt River Project Agricultural Improvement and Power District, an agency of the state of Arizona that serves as an electrical utility for the Phoenix metropolitan a ...
10%, and
Tucson Electric Power 7%. The station is cooled using water from Morgan Lake, which is man-made and is replenished by about 28 million gallons of water each day from the
San Juan River. The plant burns
sub-bituminous coal Sub-bituminous coal is a lower grade of coal that contains 35–45% carbon. The properties of this type are between those of lignite, the lowest grade of coal, and those of bituminous coal, the second-highest grade of coal. Sub-bituminous coal i ...
delivered from the nearby Navajo Coal Mine by the
Navajo Mine Railroad.
The Navajo Transitional Energy Company (NTEC) bought the mine from BHP, three mines in Montana and Wyoming, and 7% of Four Corners Generating Station. In 2020, Arizona Public Service announced plans to decommission the Four Corners Generating Station, leaving no prospect for the mine and the railroad.
[
]
History
The Four Corners Generating Station was constructed on property that was leased from the Navajo Nation
The Navajo Nation ( nv, Naabeehó Bináhásdzo), also known as Navajoland, is a Native Americans in the United States, Native American Indian reservation, reservation in the United States. It occupies portions of northeastern Arizona, northwe ...
in a renegotiated agreement that will expire in 2041. Unit 1 and Unit 2 were completed in 1963, Unit 3 was completed in 1964, Unit 4 was completed in 1969, and Unit 5 was completed in 1970.
Apparently the astronauts of the Mercury program
Project Mercury was the first human spaceflight program of the United States, running from 1958 through 1963. An early highlight of the Space Race, its goal was to put a man into Earth orbit and return him safely, ideally before the Soviet Un ...
reported that they could see two human-constructed things from space: one was the Great Wall of China
The Great Wall of China (, literally "ten thousand ''li'' wall") is a series of fortifications that were built across the historical northern borders of ancient Chinese states and Imperial China as protection against various nomadic group ...
and the other was the "plume streaming from Four Corners Power Plant."
In 1975, New Mexico
)
, population_demonym = New Mexican ( es, Neomexicano, Neomejicano, Nuevo Mexicano)
, seat = Santa Fe
, LargestCity = Albuquerque
, LargestMetro = Tiguex
, OfficialLang = None
, Languages = English, Spanish ( New Mexican), Navajo, ...
enacted a tax on the generation of electricity and an in-state credit such that only electricity exported out-of-state was subject to the tax. Objections to this tax led to two United States Supreme Court
The Supreme Court of the United States (SCOTUS) is the highest court in the federal judiciary of the United States. It has ultimate appellate jurisdiction over all U.S. Federal tribunals in the United States, federal court cases, and over Stat ...
cases. In '' Arizona v. New Mexico'' (1976), on a motion seeking to invoke the original jurisdiction
In common law legal systems original jurisdiction of a court is the power to hear a case for the first time, as opposed to appellate jurisdiction, when a higher court has the power to review a lower court's decision.
India
In India, the Su ...
of the Supreme Court, the court initially decided not to be involved and denied the motion, leaving the matter to the state court. The owners of Four Corners filed an action in state court to declare the tax invalid, leading to the United States Supreme Court
The Supreme Court of the United States (SCOTUS) is the highest court in the federal judiciary of the United States. It has ultimate appellate jurisdiction over all U.S. Federal tribunals in the United States, federal court cases, and over Stat ...
decision '' Arizona Public Service Co. v. Snead'' (1979), which held that the tax violated the Supremacy Clause
The Supremacy Clause of the Constitution of the United States ( Article VI, Clause 2) establishes that the Constitution, federal laws made pursuant to it, and treaties made under its authority, constitute the "supreme Law of the Land", and th ...
of the United States Constitution
The Constitution of the United States is the supreme law of the United States of America. It superseded the Articles of Confederation, the nation's first constitution, in 1789. Originally comprising seven articles, it delineates the nation ...
.[''Arizona Public Service Co. v. Snead'', 441 U.S. 141 (1979).]
In November 2010, APS announced that it would purchase the SCE share of Units 4 and 5, add air pollution
Air pollution is the contamination of air due to the presence of substances in the atmosphere that are harmful to the health of humans and other living beings, or cause damage to the climate or to materials. There are many different type ...
control systems to these units, and shutdown Units 1, 2, and 3. This transaction and shutdown were completed in 2013.[ Following the shutdown of Units 1 through 3, the capacity of Four Corners is 1,540 megawatts.
After a law suit by a coalition of environmental organizations, the plant owners and the plaintiffs reached a consent decree in 2015. According to the decree the plant will reduce emissions of nitrogen oxides and sulfur dioxide, pay $1.5 million in civil penalties and $6.7 million in healthcare and other mitigation costs for the people in the affected parts of the Navajo Nation. The law suit was based on pollution of Class I areas under the Clean Air Act in ]Grand Canyon National Park
Grand Canyon National Park, located in northwestern Arizona, is the 15th site in the United States to have been named as a national park. The park's central feature is the Grand Canyon, a gorge of the Colorado River, which is often considere ...
and 15 other areas of the National Park Service
The National Park Service (NPS) is an agency of the United States federal government within the U.S. Department of the Interior that manages all national parks, most national monuments, and other natural, historical, and recreational proper ...
as well as hazardous conditions for health of neighbors of the plant.[National Park Traveler]
Agreement Reached To Reduce Pollution Impacting National Parks In The Southwest
June 25, 2015
Decommissioning
In January 2020, Arizona Public Service announced it would be decommissioning the Four Corners Generating Station by the end of 2031, seven years ahead of the originally scheduled closure date of 2038.
See also
*List of largest power stations in the United States
This article lists the largest electrical generating stations in the United States in terms of current installed electrical capacity. Non-renewable power stations are those that run on coal, fuel oils, nuclear, natural gas, oil shale and peat ...
References
{{reflist
Energy infrastructure completed in 1963
Energy infrastructure completed in 1964
Energy infrastructure completed in 1969
Energy infrastructure completed in 1970
Coal-fired power stations in New Mexico
Buildings and structures in San Juan County, New Mexico
Navajo Nation
Arizona Public Service