Utah governor recognized by Time 100 on climate

SALT LAKE CITY — Utah Gov. Spencer Cox appeared in the Time 100 list of 2026 climate leaders released on Monday alongside energy entrepreneurs, environmental organizers and celebrity activists, standing out as one of the lone conservatives.

The recognition marks Cox's burgeoning reputation as a Republican advocate for reforms that multiply power supply without compromising natural landscapes. It also indicates the growing appeal of renewables alongside wind and solar.

Cox has been one of the most vocal champions of small modular reactors and geothermal plants as essential to an electricity revolution, bringing a bipartisan focus to this agenda as chair of the Western Governors' Association.

In 2026, he announced a nuclear "ecosystem" in Brigham City. This summer, the first modular reactor built outside a lab went critical in Orangeville. Last month, a geothermal operation in Milford sold its first 396 megawatts.

"Utah continues to show that we don't have to choose between protecting the environment and building prosperity," Cox told the Deseret News. "The real credit belongs to the hardworking Utahns making it happen."

A litany of new projects proves that an "all-of-the-above energy strategy," fostered by smart deregulation, enables cheap, plentiful and reliable energy, the statement said. Utah currently has the lowest electricity rates in the nation.

The rate of Utah innovation has caught the attention of the country. Time magazine also set aside space in its top 100 for Tim Latimer, the CEO of Fervo Energy, the geothermal firm behind the groundbreaking Cape Station project.

Centered around an underground loop, 2 miles deep and more than a mile long, the contraption uses water to transfer the 400-degree heat of the earth into 400 megawatts of energy — enough to power 200,000 homes.

Environmental groups divided

Private sector developments that put Utah on the map have accompanied Cox's "Operation Gigawatt" push to streamline government permitting. He led a coalition of 10 governors in June to demand a once-in-a-generation grid expansion.

His "energy superabundance" initiative as Western Governors' Association chair coincided with a historic surge in energy demand, estimated at 15-30%, driven by artificial intelligence, data centers, electric vehicles and a revamped manufacturing industry.

"Gov. Cox understands that protecting Utah's natural heritage and building its energy future are not competing priorities," said Danielle Franz, CEO of the American Conservation Coalition, a Republican-oriented nonprofit.

What young conservatives like Franz call "ambitious, practical leadership" is viewed differently by some more traditional climate groups, who criticize Cox for allegedly neglecting protected lands and green energy sources.

"The decision to include Gov. Cox in this list is baffling," said Scott Braden, executive director of the Southern Utah Wilderness Alliance, citing Cox's support for the federal reduction to national monuments in southern Utah.

Pristine public lands help to sequester greenhouse gases, Braden said in the statement to Deseret News. The governor has also focused the state on "dangerous" nuclear power instead of wind, solar and battery storage, Braden said.

Utah is notable for the influence its statewide elected officials have on conservative environmental conversations.

U.S. Sen. John Curtis, who founded the Conservative Climate Caucus while in the U.S. House, led the charge to protect the phaseout of clean energy subsidies in the One Big Beautiful Bill Act as a brand-new senator last year.

U.S. Sen Mike Lee has taken the lead on negotiating a sweeping permitting reform package aimed at speeding up approval for energy projects that advanced to a debate on Monday. The deal would address transmission and review deadlines.

During his PBS news conference on Monday, Cox heralded the bill as a model for finding consensus solutions on contentious issues. It is the kind of climate action he said he would like to see more of moving forward.

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