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tbarnhart@parkrecord.com
An 80-megawatt solar farm that opened in Tooele County in mid-May is helping power renewable energy goals in Park City and broader Summit County.
Construction on the Elektron Solar project started in 2021 in collaboration with Rocky Mountain Power, D.E. Shaw Renewable Investments (DESRI) and six solar power customers — Summit County, Park City Municipal, Deer Valley Resort, Park City Mountain, Salt Lake City and Utah Valley University.
The solar farm started commercial operations on May 15, and it could provide up to 95% of the County Courthouse’s power. Sustainability Program Manager Emily Quinton said it will make a significant difference as officials strive to transition governmental operations to 100% net renewable energy within the next six years, an element of the county’slarger climate objectives.
Gradual strides have been made to reduce Summit County’s greenhouse gas emissions, such as increasing the hybrid or electrical fleet or reducing vehicle usage overall, likely an effect of the coronavirus pandemic. It appears to be an incremental shift so far.
Yet large collaborations like the Elektron Solar facility are expected to make a meaningful difference in offsetting the county’s carbon footprint.
Summit County’s government emissions peaked in 2019 over seven years between 2016 and 2022. They’ve lowered a bit since then, but it hasn’t been substantial. The solar farm will put the County Courthouse “very close” to hitting its target of net-zero energy by 2030, according to Quinton.
“We very clearly still have a lot of work to do to meet the goals that the council has set out. … We’re slowly changing behavior,” she said. “But one day a (pivotal) project that was not there, is there the next day.”
The county already had several solar panels installed on its buildings including the Utah State University extension office in Coalville and the Sheldon Richins Building in Kimball Junction.
But while a single-family home may be able to provide a significant portion of its electricity with the power that’s generated, commercial buildings are usually only able to cover about 25% with renewable energy. Quinton said it’s a common strategy for governments, universities or local businesses to install a larger, off-site project to help meet their sustainability goals.
Elektron Solar works by providing 20- and 25-year power purchase agreements under Rocky Mountain Power’s Schedule 34 for renewable energy purchases to serve the internal business operations of its six customers. The electricity that’s generated on the grid stays there until it’s needed so it’s guaranteed to go where it belongs.
The solar farm is expected to generate enough clean energy to power 19,700 homes each year, according to Environmental Protection Agency data.
“The Elektron project exemplifies Summit County’s core value of collaboration, demonstrating how renewable energy initiatives can deliver results for the environment and economy,” Summit County Council Chair Malena Stevens said in a statement. “We are proud to be part of this project that will help us meet our goals for using renewable electrical energy to power county operations.”
Quinton recognized the milestone achievement, something she said was only possible through the partnerships and initiatives Summit County has pursued in its search of becoming more eco-friendly.
Park City and Summit County are also part of the Utah Renewable Communities, or the Community Renewable Energy Agency, which is an effort to create a default net 100% renewable electricity option for Rocky Mountain Power customers in enrolled municipalities.
Communities were required to pass a resolution by December 2019 to participate and 18 places, including Oakley, Francis, Coalville, Emigration Canyon, Moab, Millcreek and Ogden, formally joined the program before the deadline closed in May 2022.
Quinton said Rocky Mountain Power should start sending some of the initial documents to the Utah Public Service Commission with the goal of having the participation ordinance adopted by the end of the year.
The program could be launched in early 2025, making renewable energy accessible to every homeowner. Rates are expected to increase between $2 and $7 a month for participants, according to the program’s website.
Still, Quinton noted the Elektron Solar project and other initiatives only address electric energy. She said officials must find solutions to offset the gas used to heat county facilities, for example.
The zero food waste by 2030 initiative led by the Park City Community Foundation’s Climate Fund would be one way to reduce greenhouse gas emissions in Summit County. The program aims to divert food waste from landfills to processing centers that convert it into less harmful, usable products. It’s estimated that 60% of the solid waste in the landfill is food waste.
The Sustainability Office is also partnering with the Planning Department as staff work to revise the General Plan. Environmental protections were listed as top priorities during the community-wide Our Summit visioning project.
That’s also why the Sustainability Office will be involved in the community health assessment being conducted by the Summit County Health Department. Then there’s the partnership between the two interconnected offices to organize the speaker series focused on climate change and public health. It returns this fall to help promote important community dialogue.
Summit County started setting sustainability and climate goals more than 10 years ago from early recycling programs to recent investments in electric vehicle charging stations. The County Council in 2015 adopted an action plan that also considered the broader community through public transit and pedestrian access. A formal resolution was approved in 2017.
Specific goals for county operations were established in 2019: transition to net 100% renewable electrical energy, convert to hybrid or electrical vehicles with recharging infrastructure and decrease energy consumption in public and private sector buildings to reduce overall greenhouse gas emissions by 80% below 2014 levels by 2050.
“We want to see fast progress on these goals, but we have to realize it takes years for the process to evolve and that’s okay. These things happen at the pace of partnerships emerging,” Quinton said.
Visit summitcounty.info/elektronsolar for details about the solar farm project. Information about the Sustainability Office can be found at summitcounty.org/463/Sustainability-Office.
Now, VoiceSuite is back on the up and up, thriving in West Valley City at 3747 Parkway Blvd., where Dwyer hopes to expand his workshop into the adjacent space.
Sometimes life takes you places you didn’t anticipate. Sometimes — if you’re Jade’s Cafe owners Mason and Halle Squires — it takes you to a corner of Heber City, where you start a cafe in pursuit of dreams, and in pursuit of reflection.
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