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SALT LAKE CITY — Coal continues to dominate the Beehive State's energy production as it has for many years.
But the tides are shifting, albeit slowly, as Utah explores more renewable energy avenues. According to experts, it's about time.
"Utah is warming, obviously, faster than the global average. We're seeing droughts that's impacting our water resources ... we've had a couple good years but that doesn't fix it," said Sarah Wright, CEO of Utah Clean Energy.
Wright was one speaker on a panel of energy leaders, environmentalists, land managers and politicians who spoke Friday at the University of Utah's Wallace Stegner Center for Land, Resources and the Environment's 29th Annual Symposium.
While Utah is making great strides in individual actions to lessen carbon emissions through increased electric vehicle ownership and renewable-powered homes, Wright said this is only a small piece of the puzzle.
"If we electrify our transportation and electrify our homes and buildings and don't get our grid to zero (emissions), we're never going to reach the carbon goals that we need to to create a livable planet for generations to come," Wright said. "Individual action will only take us so far. We need political leadership and we need the policies, the programs, the investments (in renewable energy)."
Compared to other states in the Mountain West, Utah lags behind the rest when it comes to electricity generated from renewable energy.
"Although the state has seen a drastic increase in renewable energy production, this has not made up for the decrease in production from fossil fuel resources as well as increasing consumption in the state. So, for the first time since the 1970s, Utah is now actually a net energy importer," said Becky Johnson, assistant general counsel for Utah-based rPlus Energies.
While several of the speakers joked that a positive outlook on the future is a job requirement for working in renewable energy and climate solutions, they still waxed optimistic when it comes to Utah's momentum in pursuing renewable energy sources. Here's a look at how Utah is leaning into its next generation of energy production.
Hydroelectric
Johnson said that traditionally, hydroelectric power has dominated Utah's renewable resources. Perhaps surprisingly, it's also one of the state's oldest energy resources, as the first hydroelectric generating units were constructed in 1896.
"With the construction of the Flaming Gorge Hydroelectric Plant on the Green River in 1963, there was a substantial increase in hydropower generation," Johnson said.
Now, Utah is home to over 60 hydroelectric power plants, mostly located in the northern part of the state, with nearly half of them operating at utility-scale capacity levels of 1 megawatt or more.
Wind
In the early 2000s, the U.S. Department of Energy's State Energy Program funded the Utah Department of Natural Resources to analyze and identify the state's wind energy potential and its favorable wind energy zones.
On the heels of this study, Utah's first utility-scale wind project in Spanish Fork was built in 2008, delivering nearly 19 megawatts annually. Following its construction, two other wind projects popped up: the Milford Wind Corridor Project in Beaver County and the Latigo Wind Farm in San Juan County.
According to the Utah Geological Survey, the Department of Energy-funded study into Utah's wind energy potential identified 51 potential wind development zones, covering approximately 1,838 square miles of land — about 2% of the state's surface area. It was estimated that these areas could support up to 9,145 megawatts of wind-generating capacity.
Solar
Johnson noted that while Utah doesn't have the same level of natural resources to support conventional wind and hydroelectric power projects as other states, this isn't the case when it comes to solar. Far from it.
An arid state with an abundance of sunlight combined with a relatively high elevation that welcomes a high ultraviolet index, Utah is a solar power developer's dream. Not surprisingly, solar energy generated more electricity than any other renewable resource in the state in 2022, according to the U.S. Energy Information Administration.
As of 2023, Utah has 38 utility-scale (meaning the power can be used by a large number of customers) solar farms combining for a generating capacity of 1,539 megawatts. In 2022, 3,850 gigawatt hours were generated from solar power, making up 10% of Utah's total electricity generation.
While most of Utah's solar production comes from the southwest area of the state, Johnson said there are planned projects throughout the state.
Geothermal
Similar to solar, Utah also carries an immense potential for geothermal production. Johnson noted that it is one of seven states with utility-scale electricity generation from geothermal sources.
In fact, southwest Utah is set to become home to the world's largest next-generation geothermal energy project that will deliver 400 megawatts of 24/7 carbon-free electricity as Texas-based Fervo Energy in September 2023 broke ground on its exploration drilling campaign at Cape Station in Beaver County.
The Cape Station project will begin delivering around-the-clock, clean power to the grid in 2026 and reach full-scale production in 2028.
What will become of coal?
While Utah has explored renewable energy sources, coal is still king when it comes to energy production, accounting for 57% of the state's energy production in 2022, according to the Utah Geological Survey.
However, this number is a bit deceiving when viewed in a vacuum. In 2005, coal provided 94% of electricity generation for the state. After the recession in 2008, Utah's coal production began to decline, due in part to the growing use of natural gas and renewables.
As of 2021, Utah had six active coal mines, the fewest number since mining operations began in the state about 150 years ago.
We're a community of generating electricity and transmission. So we've accepted that role ... to kind of keep the lights on, if you will.
– Tony Martines, Carbon County commissioner
"If you talk to the old coal miners, they'll tell you 'The easy coal is gone,'" said Tony Martines, Carbon County commissioner. "It's getting deeper in the earth, it's harder to retract. The cost is just prohibitive to go after. There's still coal in Carbon County ... but it's prohibitive to chase."
Martines said this reality has forced the county — one with a rich and proud heritage of coal extraction — to adapt.
And so far, that's exactly what it's doing.
In 2022, rPlus Energies developed the Graphite Solar Project in Carbon County. The project delivers solar energy to Meta's data center in Eagle Mountain, helping the company power its operations exclusively with renewable energy.
"We're a community of generating electricity and transmission. So we've accepted that role ... to kind of keep the lights on, if you will," Martines said.
