San Juan Generating Station burns coal to produce electricity used throughout the southwest

An employee watches screens inside the control room to ensure operations run smoothly at the San Juan Generating Station in this Sept. 25, 2019 file photo.

This coal silo, which serves unit 1 of the San Juan Generating Station, was rebuilt in 2018 after it collapsed and the coal dust caused an explosion that damaged some equipment.

San Juan Mine as well as coal stock piles can be seen from the San Juan Generating Station, Wednesday, Sept. 25, 2019, in Waterflow.

A generator for one of the units is pictured, Wednesday, Sept. 25, 2019, at San Juan Generating Station.

These pulverizers once crushed coal for unit 3 at the San Juan Generating Station. They have since been shut down along with the unit.

A sign is seen on an outside wall of the San Juan Generating Station.

The Shiprock pinnacle can be seen, Wednesday, Sept. 25, 2019, from the San Juan Generating Station. Meanwhile, transmission lines transport electricity away from the power plant.

Coal is delivered from the San Juan Mine to the San Juan Generating Station through a coal supply contract that ends on June 30, 2022.

Bottom ash from burning coal is piled, Wednesday, Sept. 25, 2019, at the San Juan Generating Station in Waterflow.

A feeder is pictured, Wednesday, Sept. 25, 2019, at the San Juan Generating Station. Plant Director Omni Warner described the feeder as the gas pedal for the power plant.

Water vapor and carbon dioxide are the main things that come out of the units at the San Juan Generating Station following multiple environmental upgrades over the years.

These blue boxes house the generator, which, is seen in the foreground, and the turbines, which can be seen in the background.

A silo above a feeder holds coal that will later be burned, Wednesday, Sept. 25, 2019, at the San Juan Generating Station.

The San Juan Mine is pictured, Wednesday, Sept. 25, 2019, from the San Juan Generating Station in Waterflow. Unlike the nearby Navajo Mine, the San Juan Mine has been transformed into an underground mine after initially being a surface mine.

Steam rises from one of the units at the San Juan Generating Station.

The floor beneath one of the feeders had to be replaced in 2018 when a coal silo collapsed.

A baghouse captures fly ash, Wednesday, Sept. 25, 2019, at San Juan Generating Station.

Trucks from San Juan Mine take fly ash back to the mine and place it in pits that will later be reclaimed.

The power plant burns coal to heat water. The steam turns turbines to generate power. Once the water can no longer be used in the power plant, it is placed in evaporation ponds like those seen in this picture taken, Wednesday, Sept. 25, 2019, from the San Juan Generating Station.

Steam comes from one of the four units at the San Juan Generating Station. The emissions from the power plant are monitored with equipment placed on each unit.

The switch yard at San Juan Generating Station is pictured, Wednesday, Sept. 25, 2019, in Waterflow. Electricity generated at the power plant is shipped to other places in New Mexico as well as Arizona and other southwest locations.

A transformer is pictured just outside the San Juan Generating Station. The transformer increases the voltage prior to transporting it away from the power plant.

Transmission lines take power away from the San Juan Generating Station.

Four Corners Power Plant can be seen from the San Juan Generating Station.