Flagstaff, Ariz. • About a dozen Navajos traveled to New York City to protest a company eyeing a coal-fired power plant on their reservation.
The Navajo Generating Station near Page is set to close next year unless a new buyer is found. The current owners say energy produced by natural gas is cheaper.
New York-based Avenue Capital Group has said it's interested in purchasing the plant and is talking with tribal officials. It's also been pushing an Arizona entity to commit to buying coal-fired power.
The protesters held signs outside the company's office in Manhattan on Monday. They say Avenue Capital is standing in the way of a move toward renewable energy on the reservation.
The company declined comment Monday, saying it hasn’t reached a decision on the power plant.