At first glance, the coal counties of Northern Arizona and the movie “Moneyball” have very little in common. Coal is the economic driver of Coconino, Navajo, and Apache counties, providing millions of dollars in revenue and thousands of jobs. The closest baseball team is further south in Phoenix, in a diversified and far richer economy, and there are no plans to bring major league baseball to the Grand Canyon neighborhood.
So why “Moneyball”? Our partners in Northern Arizona came up with the analogy to describe the challenge of creating new economic opportunities in an undervalued market as coal plants phase out. They decided to focus on the potential of smaller projects, businesses, and industries to produce new jobs and revenue instead of trying to land one big “home run”.
Northern Arizona and Community Builders came together through a partnership with “Building Resilient Communities in Coal Country” (BRECC), a federally funded technical assistance program through the National Association of Counties. Throughout a year-long process, county representatives and CB worked together to research, identify, and develop partnerships and funding opportunities that will result in real business success across Navajo, Coconino, and Apache counties.
The phasing-out of coal as an industry opened up the region to economic diversification. Mining is one of Arizona’s major industries, along with agriculture and tourism. Home to the Grand Canyon National Park and numerous state parks, the area is also the ancestral home to the Navajo, Hopi, Havasupai, and Hualapai Nations. Taking into account the area’s demographics and economic needs, CB worked with the local BRECC team in creating strategies to attract new and diverse development.
Our work with the Northern Arizona counties wrapped up in the spring of 2024. By the next year, coal was once again touted as a key energy source with the new federal administration pushing for more coal extraction and exports. Northern Arizona was clear-sighted as they took in this change in priorities:
“The towns in our energy corridor have not been deterred from enacting their plans, in light of this renewed national conversation on using coal. The reality stands that change is happening. It’s happened. The significant mental change being our region understands that existing power generation levels are not enough,” according to Chris Pasterz of Navajo County Economic Development.
Likewise, neighboring Apache County has opened new doors and solidified relationships that continue to bear fruit. “One of the most impactful—and perhaps most unexpected—partnerships that emerged through this process was with our local coal-generating power companies: Salt River Project, Tucson Electric Power, and Arizona Public Service. From the very beginning, they were at the table for every key conversation, fully engaged and committed to working alongside us to build a stronger future for Apache County.”
Northern Arizona knows what it’s like to be passed over by traditional industry. Spectacular scenery doesn’t necessarily equate to “build it and they will come” (another baseball reference!). This time around, through their work with BRECC, they were able to access millions of dollars of federal grants to build the power infrastructure that has put Navajo County on the radar for high dollar development projects that need more electricity than what could be provided with the coal plant operating.
According to Preston Raban of Apache County Economic Development, “Through ongoing dialogue and shared vision, we were able to align on a transformative goal: the repurposing of our coal plants through conversion to natural gas. This is a major milestone for our communities. Both of our power plants have since made public announcements confirming their plans to transition to natural gas—a change that will carry tremendous long-term benefits for economic stability, job creation, and environmental resilience in our region.”
Navajo County, too, is able to realize “…more businesses, more vertical developments, more large industrial construction projects, more housing development, more jobs. That’s the type of fuel that is continuing the momentum that was supported by our BRECC team’s efforts.”
Sounds like a couple of home runs to us.
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