Regulation, Sourcing Renewables  -  January 20, 2020

Utah communities enroll in clean power program

Twenty four communities from six counties across Utah will be receiving power from net-100% renewable energy by 2030 under a new program by Rocky Mountain Power that was made possible by new legislation passed last year.

While the participating communities are located across the state, the majority are in Salt Lake, Summit counties who, along with Grand County, signed on unincorporated residents before last month’s opt-in deadline. The program will provide clean power to more than a quarter of the state’s population, The Salt Lake Tribune reported.

HB411 states that anyone living in a community that approved the act and doesn’t opt-out will be automatically enrolled in the Community Renewable Energy Act with their utility provider.

“We’ve seen it passed across many different kinds of municipalities that reflect the unique, diverse cultures that we have across Utah,” Salt Lake County Councilwoman Shireen Ghorbani told the publication. “And I just think it’s a really important and exciting moment to remember that our government works, and it can work especially on issues we care about at the local level.”

While participants will not always receive power directly from renewable energy projects, the program is meant to incentivize the construction of new renewable energy projects. The total electricity needs of the communities that opted in will be met with a comparable amount of total renewable energy generation.

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