Page 8 - North American Clean Energy January February 2014

From left to right.Chavez John,

Avee Arthur, Laverne Benally, Elsa
Johnson, home recipient Louise
George, Mark Snyder, Chip Johnson,
and Gary Zarembski. Louise George

received an EMPUS Bump-out and a
new, super-eicient home as part of
the Plateau Solar Project.

Power to the People

Bringing clean energy & water to rural Navajo elders

By John Connell

Navajo people living in the Four Corners Region of Arizona, New Mexico, and Utah have some of the most abundant sunlight

in North America. In fact, they are the major electric supplier for the entire southwest through coal mining and coal-ired

plants. Perhaps surprisingly, however, over 20,000 Navajo still live in homes without electricity, running water, or sanitation.

Among the hardest hit are elders with disabilities and health problems. Most have to A solar system torture test
traverse makeshift dirt roads twice a week to fetch water and wood (a 50- to 70-mile drive). If there’s one thing the desert can be, it’s unforgiving. Temperatures in Navajo country
hings many of us take for granted are foreign to this community. hey light their homes range from a blistering 110 degrees Fahrenheit (43° C), down to -30 degrees Fahrenheit

with a single kerosene lamp that emits toxic gasses, and live everyday without indoor (-34° C). Aside from hitting those in the community hard, such extreme conditions
plumbing, running water, or electricity. A lack of power also means the Navajos can’t wreak havoc on batteries and other equipment that are the backbone of any solar energy
refrigerate healthier, fresher foods, store medicine, access the Internet, or even use vital installation.
medical devices, such as oxygen respirators.
Previous eforts by diferent companies to set up a successful renewable energy site

But, there is hope for change.
didn’t account for these conditions, and millions of dollars of failed systems litter the
landscape. Everything from failed batteries and inverters, which are crammed inside
The Plateau Solar project
un-insulated metal boxes, to old refrigerators that once baked in the scorching sunlight,
Elsa Johnson grew up on the reservation, and knows irsthand the hardships that of-grid remain broken and used up from unsuccessful past project attempts.

Navajos’ face. Johnson left, but returned to the reservation some 30 years later only to ind “For this project to work, we had to work with nature and remove the variables that
the living conditions hadn’t changed. hat led her to establish a Navajo non-proit, called caused previous installations to fail,” shared Snyder, who helped design and work on the
IINA Solutions, to ight poverty on her native land (IINA means “life” in Navajo).
Plateau Solar Project (PSP). “And because these homes are so remote, we had to make sure
Johnson started the Plateau Solar Project with solar expert Mark Snyder, owner of they were built to last. We couldn’t let these people down.”

Mark Snyder Electric and CEO of Global Solar Water Powers Systems Inc. (GSWPS). He is a Initially, the system was designed to protect the batteries, but upon further
master electrician, an inventor, and a solar homebuilder.
consideration, it was thought: “Why not make the building modular and multi-purpose?”
“We created the Plateau Solar Project to bring essential electrical, water, and sanitation Johnson, in turn, immediately thought to manufacture these structures to serve
services to Navajo elders 62 years and older, who desperately need them,” explained thousands of of-grid homes, thereby creating jobs for the Navajo people. And jobs that not

Snyder. “Each installation is designed for a 25-year lifespan. It delivers sustainable solar only contribute to the community, but also the environment.
thermal power for hot water, space heating, and electricity—and creates jobs for the his led to the creation of the patent-pending Enertopia Multi-Purpose Utility Structure
Navajo people.”
(EMPUS). his irst-of-its-kind building is designed from the ground up to protect solar
Once IINA Solutions was awarded grants from the USDA Rural Development Program equipment from harsh weather for 25 years. he 8x20 foot (2.43x6 meter) building

and the Renewable Energy Investment Fund, the team faced a daunting challenge.
features R-42 super-insulation from P2000 and climate control, electricity, hot water, and a
full bathroom.

8 nacleanenergy.com
JANUARY/FEBRUARY 2014