6 days ago
How Native Homes in New Mexico Are Tapping the Sun
Until mid-June, Graham Beyale was living off the usual hodgepodge of makeshift power options used by the many people in Navajo Nation who don't have electricity.
In the winter, he used a propane gas heater and a wood stove to heat his decades-old mobile home, and small portable solar panels to charge his phone and run some lights. In the summer, when temperatures reached the triple digits, he'd run his mini-fridge off the panels for a few hours when the sun was brightest, and plug in a fan.
50 States, 50 Fixes is a series about local solutions to environmental problems. More to come this year.
Mr. Beyale, who is 35 and a farmer, lives near Shiprock, in the part of Navajo Nation that covers northwestern New Mexico. In the Navajo Nation, which stretches into parts of Arizona and Utah and also wraps around the Hopi reservation, an estimated 14,000 of households are without electricity, often relying on kerosene lanterns, extension cords hooked up to car batteries and ice chests.
For Mr. Beyale, life took a turn in June with the arrival of photovoltaic solar panels, which were provided and installed by Native Renewables, a 10-year-old nonprofit group. It connects Navajo and Hopi households to reliable solar energy while also generating jobs on tribal land. The panels have battery storage, and Mr. Beyale's panels sit on a stand-alone pedestal outside his wood-paneled mobile home, which he shares with two dogs and three cats.
Tell Us About Solutions Where You Live
Want all of The Times? Subscribe.
