The effort is part of the Resilient Energy Economies Initiative, a philanthropic program led by Resources for the Future and partner universities. It’s supporting projects across the country designed to help communities prepare for economic shifts tied to the decline of coal and other fossil fuels.
In the Four Corners, the project is backed by about $70,000 and will focus on various communities, including the Navajo Nation and Hopi Tribe.
The region has long depended on coal production and power plants, which have provided jobs and tax revenue for decades. But many of those facilities have closed in recent years or are expected to shut down — including the Navajo Generating Station, which ceased operations in 2019 — leaving local leaders searching for new economic pathways…