In 2016, Salt Lake City had begun discussions with Rocky Mountain Power about purchasing 100 percent renewable energy, talks that were soon joined by Park City and Summit County. Local governments, however, have wanted to move further. Solar power represented 10 percent of the state’s electricity mix last year, according to EIA. Spencer Cox (R) in May says the state is committed to an “any of the above” energy future. The conservative state set a goal to obtain 20 percent of its power from renewable sources by 2025 an energy plan released by Gov. Support for the coal industry remains strong and CREP was seen as a roundabout way to prod Utah’s energy transition, which has lagged behind other states. Some 61 percent of electricity net generation came from coal-fired power plants in 2021, according to the U.S. “Nothing else is going to have the same level of access or the same level of megawatt impact.” Collaborative approach “It’s just unfortunate to have cities miss out on a unique and effective program that could bring everyone in the city clean energy,” said Lindsay Beebe, a Utah-based senior campaign representative for the Sierra Club’s Beyond Coal campaign. “I don’t think it should be on our citizens to have a public service utility come up with a business plan.”Įven as several participants left, CREP will still advance and deliver renewable energy to some of Utah’s largest cities, including Salt Lake City and Ogden.īut advocates worry that short-term concerns about costs - exacerbated in a political climate where inflation is a top issue - could limit Utah’s best chance to strengthen its renewable energy future. “Their priorities were for their electric bill to stay as it is, not subsidizing Rocky Mountain Power’s decisions,” Lang said. Mayor Karen Lang, who took office in January, told E&E News that she hadn’t spoken to a single resident who wanted to pursue the bulk purchase program. Others said West Valley City would lose control over its energy future and could sacrifice reliability. In West Valley City, some council members expressed concern that those costs - and any new energy spending - would raise costs on low-income residents. Every participating community will have to pay in, although a cost-sharing agreement means larger cities will pay more. CREP carries $700,000 in startup costs for legal and technical consultants, program design and filing. The discussions in Utah have highlighted obstacles, especially in a political environment where rising gasoline prices and inflation are at the top of voters’ minds. “Every community has to do this differently, and not everyone has the resources or technical staff to do it.” “A New York or a San Francisco may have a wealth of resources for planning and implementation, but smaller communities won’t,” Kasza said. But there’s a difference between making a commitment and executing it, especially when politics and the costs of implementation come into play, said Nick Kasza, manager of the National League of Cities’ sustainability program. cities was the largest on record, enough to power more than 940,000 homes annually.ĬREP showed that such pledges could even work in a conservative, coal-heavy state like Utah. The 4,370 megawatts of renewable energy announced last year by U.S. executed 290 renewable energy deals in 2021, a 55 percent increase from the previous year. As the Trump administration stalled national climate action, cities and states set their own ambitious goals and drove much of the country’s move toward clean energy and transportation - a trend that has continued even as the Biden administration has pushed for a decarbonized grid and is working on a climate package with congressional Democrats.Īccording to data from the World Resources Institute, 155 cities in the U.S. That U-turn shows the challenge some cities face when confronting the political and logistical hurdles of acquiring clean energy. Five other cities that initially joined CREP also backed out before last month’s deadline, according to Utah 100 Communities, an organization representing the program’s participants. Just ahead of a May 31 deadline to officially commit to CREP and pay administrative costs, the City Council elected to back out. Less than three years later, however, West Valley City reversed course. Energy Information Administration, Form EIA-923, Power Plant Operations Report and predecessor forms.“This is more than a dream, we’re taking action,” said then-West Valley City Mayor Ron Bigelow in 2019, according to the West Valley Journal. Energy Information Administration, Form EIA-861, Annual Electric Power Industry Report, U.S.
Rocky mountain power rates generator#
Energy Information Administration, Form EIA-860, Annual Electric Generator Report, U.S.
0 kommentar(er)
