Something New – and Old – under the Sun
Kykotsmovi, Arizona · By Peter Friederici
During most daylight hours the sun shines strong on the Hopi mesas of northeastern Arizona, ripening the corn, warming the houses, and forming the clouds that nourish crops. For the last twenty years it has also powered the electrical systems of a growing number of homes, thanks to a locally based business that’s pioneered the practice of bringing solar electricity to remote locations.
NativeSUN was founded in 1985 as an offshoot of the nonprofit Hopi Foundation, and became an independent for-profit business in 2001. It now has two offices in Arizona and one in Colorado, and has installed about 450 residential power systems on the Hopi and Navajo reservations, as well as larger systems for such institutions as the Tucson Unified School District and the Flagstaff office of the Grand Canyon Trust, a regional environmental group. The project’s success has not only allowed hundreds of customers to acquire energy that is clean, nonpolluting, and reliable; it has also become a good source of employment on reservations where high-paying jobs are scarce. During busy periods, the company employs up to eight solar technicians who install new electrical systems and service existing ones.
The project owes its inception to two factors. The Hopi and Navajo reservations are remote, and many residents have been bypassed by traditional electrical providers.
On Navajo tribal lands, in particular, homes are widely dispersed, making it difficult and expensive to hook up to the electrical grid. In addition, several Hopi villages have explicitly forbidden the installation of transmission lines. These traditional people do not want to lose land by providing rights-of-way to utility companies, and many believe that the electromagnetic fields emanating from the lines would disrupt the atmosphere and balance of the villages’ ceremonial plazas – to say nothing of the aesthetic impact of the lines. As a result, more than ten thousand residences on both reservations remain off the electrical grid. In many cases residents still run lights and appliances; they simply power them with noisy, gas-powered generators.
In this sunny, wide-open setting, solar energy is an ideal solution. NativeSUN has specialized in installing small-scale systems that allow homeowners to live independently of the grid. “I don’t have to pay for electricity,” one client has said. “I recommend it to other people. Once you pay for the system, it’s yours.” Most of the systems cost $10,000 or less – still a considerable investment in this job-poor area. NativeSUN assists clients in paying for equipment and installation with its own revolving loan fund and by helping to locate other sources of credit. The freedom from monthly utility bills is highly compatible with Hopi traditions of self-reliance.
Solar energy is efficient, but it can take a bit of getting used to in a home. People who have lived in towns on the grid, where turning on lights and appliances is as simple as flipping a switch, must learn the mindfulness needed to live happily with a smaller source of energy. “The initial feedback we get from individuals who have lived in the city can be that the system doesn’t produce enough electricity,” says Doran Dalton, NativeSUN’s director. “They try to run too many appliances and then run out of electricity. It’s the law of natural consequences. But after a couple of months, we have no more complaints. They learn: if you’re not in a room you turn off the light. And if they really need more energy, they get everyone to pitch in and add on to the system with more panels.” NativeSUN technicians do assist their customers after installation by offering education about energy use, as well as such energy-saving tools as compact fluorescent light bulbs.
Doran is from the village of Hotevilla, on the Hopi reservation, and he helped start the Hopi Foundation after attending college and studying electrical engineering. He is consistently gratified by the response of residents who discover the joys of having their own electrical system.
“Individuals who have never had electricity love it,” he says. “When we install it and flip that switch, you should see their faces – they’re so proud and happy. I think that’s what keeps us in it, is that excitement.” The pride is especially pronounced when considered in the light of history. In many cases, residents remember past promises made by federal agencies that electricity would arrive within a few years. Often it did not. And so they are gratified to discover that even on the ancient Hopi lands there is something new under the sun – albeit something very much in keeping with venerable traditions.
“One woman had her house wired for electricity once –
when her village was told that electricity would be coming within three years,” Doran Dalton says. “When we were finished with the installation job she said, ‘After thirty-five years I can’t believe there’s finally electricity going through those wires.’”