Arizona's state government has launched a new program that will use solar power to bring electricity to Navajo households not connected to the grid.
The Tribal Rural Electrification Program (TREP), created by the Arizona Department of Commerce Energy Office, is intended to demonstrate renewable energy technologies for communities that are not connected to the state's power grid. As part of the program's first phase, 60 solar panels will be provided to 10 homes without electricity on the Navajo Reservation.
The goal of the TREP program is to bring electricity to more than 100 households by next year. It is estimated that 10,000 American Indian households in Arizona are without electricity. More than 14% of households located on tribal lands have no access to electrical power, and more than half of those households are located in Arizona.
