For rural communities such as the Hopi Reservation in northeastern Arizona, unreliable electricity remains a significant issue. The Turquoise Trail administration campus on the reservation currently depends on backup generators to power essential offices and community buildings for only a few hours each day. In response, local leaders and partners are seeking new ways to provide consistent energy.
A team from the Ira A. Fulton Schools of Engineering at Arizona State University (ASU) is working with the Hopi Utilities Corporation (HUC) and BoxPower, a microgrid development company, to create a solar-powered hybrid microgrid for the reservation. This project aims to serve as a model that other rural areas can follow to improve their own energy resilience.
The initiative has received $9 million in funding from the U.S. Department of Energy’s Energy Improvements in Rural or Remote Areas program. The Hopi Tribe Community Solar Project will upgrade existing fossil fuel-based infrastructure so it can deliver reliable and sustainable power.
Kristen Parrish, who leads the project and is a professor of construction management and engineering at ASU’s School of Sustainable Engineering and the Built Environment, noted that these challenges are not unique to one community: “It’s not a unique problem in rural America to be at the edge of the power grid or on the fringes of two jurisdictions,” Parrish says. “This project outlines the blueprint to help those communities achieve reliable and resilient energy.”
The microgrid will supply electricity to 15 buildings at the Turquoise Trail Municipal Complex (TTMC), which provides essential services but has been operating below capacity due to inconsistent power.
Chairman Timothy Nuvangyaoma explained how recent events have made things more difficult: “Having energy stability gives the program a stable worksite that essentially turns into better services for our community,” Nuvangyaoma says.
Fletcher Wilkinson, HUC’s energy manager, described ongoing struggles with intermittent generator use: “For the last two years, we’ve been able to run generators intermittently, powering a few buildings for about 10 hours a day,” Wilkinson says. “For the first time, the microgrid will give the whole campus 24-hour power.”
Designing this system in an area governed by multiple jurisdictions presents technical challenges. Sanya Detweiler, Senior Project Manager at BoxPower, said these hurdles make TTMC an ideal demonstration site: “Much of rural America is poorly served by the traditional power grid and is seeking the energy sovereignty that a microgrid can provide,” Detweiler says. “We’re setting the precedent and establishing a playbook for other communities to replicate.”
The planned system will combine solar panels producing up to 1.25 megawatts with battery storage and existing diesel generators so that round-the-clock service is possible.
Wilkinson credited ASU’s involvement as crucial: “Having the help of an entity like ASU really unlocks success,” Wilkinson says. “The brainpower, resources and initiative that this collaboration has sparked will have visible results within the community for years to come.”
ASU researchers from its Laboratory for Energy And Power Solutions (LEAPS) have analyzed how best to size components so they meet current needs while remaining effective over time.
James Nelson, director of technology and innovation at LEAPS, outlined broader goals: “Our goal is to help HUC and the Hopi Tribe reach their energy goals of sovereignty, reliability and sustainability with scalable processes,” Nelson says. “We’re trying to demonstrate how the solution of hybridizing and updating an older, traditional fossil fuel-based type of system can work and make that process repeatable for other sites — whether on tribal, domestic or international land.”
Upon completion—while ASU continues its technical support—HUC will take over operation and ownership responsibilities for maintaining daily service through this new infrastructure.
“At its very core, this is an opportunity for the Hopi Tribe to achieve energy sovereignty,” Wilkinson says. “This is power generation that we own, rather than relying on outside entities.”
Parrish emphasized how this effort fits into ASU’s mission: “We at ASU strive to support local partnerships and conduct use-inspired, meaningful research,” Parrish says. “This project aligned with all of those values. We get to serve our tribal partners as we establish a high-impact blueprint for all of rural America.”
