SOLAR TODAY - June 2009

view from the states
utah’s Clean Energy Frontier
Tremendous renewable resources and pioneer spirit
foster a new renewable energy economy.
By sArA BAldwin

A native Utahn, Sara Baldwin is the community programs and policy associate for Utah Clean Energy, a nonprofit partnering to build the new clean energy economy. She has been with UCE since 2003 and was the recipient of the National Renewable Energy Laboratory/ DOE Wind Powering America’s Outstanding Young Wind Advocate of the Year Award in 2008. Contact Baldwin at sbaldwin@utah cleanenergy.org.

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historically, Utah has considered itself a coal state. We vie with Oklahoma and Wyoming for the title “Reddest State in the Union.” But Republican Gov. Jon Huntsman Jr. now leads the charge for carbon-free energy development, and Utahns show strong citizen support for clean energy at both state and local levels. The energy industry has taken notice of our ample undevel-oped renewable resources, and Utah is rapidly becoming the next frontier for the clean energy movement.

A swiftly growing population and emerging renewable job training programs give us a clean energy workforce. Leaders in the construction industry have adopted cutting-edge energy-efficient and high-performance building techniques.

Utah Clean Energy (UCE), a local nonprofit public interest organization, has been a strong voice for clean energy since 2001, advocating for renewables and efficiency in the policy and regulatory arenas. As policy and regulatory barriers fell, a number of projects went to completion and proved that clean energy works. The economic benefits resonated throughout the state and got the attention of policymakers. Huntsman’s economic development plan now identifies renewable energy as a key component, stating that “Utah should position itself as a leader in renewable energy technologies and not lose opportunities to other Western states.”

Utah has adopted a handful of incentives and two clean energy goals: Huntsman wants to increase energy efficiency 20 percent by 2015, and the legislature calls for 20 percent of the state’s electricity sales to come from renewable sources by 2025. In 2007, Utah became a member of the Western Climate Initiative, in step with progressive states like California, Washington and Oregon, and has adopted greenhouse gas emission-reduction goals.

With growing demand for clean energy, Utah’s utilities and its Public Service Commission (PSC) are starting to acknowledge the value of renewable energy and energy efficiency. In January, the PSC’s net-metering ruling rolled out the red carpet for distributed renewable energy projects. The measure puts Utah among the top states for net-metering policies, according to the Interstate Renewable Energy Council (IREC).

Proactive local governments and some municipal power providers are shifting toward clean energy. For example, the City of St. George Energy Services Department (a municipal utility) offers a solar rebate and partners with a rural electric cooperative to offer customers a buy-in to

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a utility-scale solar project. This community-scale project is the sort of thing that makes Utah unique — our pioneer spirit and resourcefulness seek creative solutions for clean energy.

To keep the momentum going, UCE partners with local governments, industries and businesses, colleges and universities, economic development groups, the Utah State Energy Program and the governor’s office. These partnerships are supported by tremendous technical and financial assistance from the U.S. Department of Energy (DOE), IREC, the Energy Foundation, the Southwest Energy Efficiency Project and many others. Utah has celebrated numerous clean energy successes over the past few years. Some notable examples include:

• Net Metering: The PSC’s net-metering rule for Rocky Mountain Power (RMP) — Utah’s only investor-owned electric utility, serving 80 percent of the state — is a huge win for distributed energy. Legislation passed in 2008 set the per-system cap at 2 megawatts (MW) for commercial and 25 kilowatts (k W) for residential installations. The PSC established the cap at 20 percent of RMP’s 2007 peak demand (nearly 1 gigawatt). All renewable energy certificates are owned by the customer-generator; residential customers receive kilowatt-hour credits for any excess production; and large commercial customers with demand charges have a creative option for valuing excess generation.

• Solar Salt Lake Project: In 2007, the DOE named Salt Lake City one of the first Solar America Cities. Now the department has partnered with Salt Lake County, UCE, Rio Tinto Kennecott Land and RMP to determine the most viable strategies to achieve 10 MW, or 10,000 solar installations, by 2015.

• Clean Energy Economic Development Study: UCE completed a clean energy economic development study, commissioned by the governor’s energy advisor. It shows that, compared to business as usual, increasing energy efficiency by 20 percent by 2015 and getting 20 percent of electricity sales from renewable energy sources by the year 2020 will lead to the creation of 7,000 net new jobs, $310 million in net new earnings and a net increase of $300 million in gross state domestic product in Utah (see utahcleanenergy.org).

• Gov. Huntsman’s Renewable Energy Zone Task Force: The task force identified Utah’s enormous potential for utility-scale renewable energy resource development across the state: concentrating solar (826 GW);