Business View Magazine | February 2019

309 the production of the area’s electricity is pre- dominantly coal and natural gas with some re- newables, as well –wind, geothermal, and solar. “It’s all going into the grid, now,” she notes. “The new mix will achieve a net-measured electricity - we’re not asking to shut down existing facili- ties, but working to incorporate new, renewable resources, primarily solar, possibly wind and geo- thermal, preferably sited in Utah to serve these municipalities. The goal is to make renewable energy available to municipalities and counties in Utah who want to buy renewable energy, and allow the utility to build renewable assets suffi- cient to supply that amount of electricity into the grid for us to purchase.” The utility, and the three municipalities that have promulgated similar resolutions –Summit County, Park City, which is in Summit County, and nearby Salt Lake City, have already met with the state’s Public Utilities Interim Legislative Com- mittee and gotten a favorable vote to move the partnership forward. “The enabling legislation is necessary because the utility is required to serve all rate payers at the lowest cost and this en- ables the utility to carve out a section of custom- ers and treat them differently,” Yoder explains. “It sets up the steps that a community must take to determine the cost of renewable energy without impacting the standard service offering from the utility. It sets up the parameters to move forward on this path.”According to a study commissioned by the county, by 2032, the cost for 100 percent renewable electricity for the average house- hold is estimated to be a little less than $10 per month higher than the cost of standard-offer Rocky Mountain Power electricity service. How- ever, that study assumed renewable energy costs that have since proven to be significantly lower, presumably that would result in even lower cost impacts to households at the same time that Gardner Energy www.gardner-energy.com (801) 689-2618 Simple. Professional. Friendly. Bringing Clean Energy To Your World