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KEY TAKEAWAYS
- Utah lawmakers prioritize coal despite clean energy advocacy, ensuring continued coal plant operations.
- Gov. Spencer Cox commits over $20 million to nuclear energy, highlighting Utah's advanced nuclear partnerships.
- Experts emphasize Utah's potential in solar and geothermal energy, urging harnessing opportunities.
SALT LAKE CITY — Utah was energized this year, and much more is to come in the future when it comes to the idea of keeping the lights on.
Lawmakers made it clear in 2024 they want to hang onto coal, despite the outcry of clean energy advocates.
Here are five things to know about the future of energy in Utah and the West.
- California's mandate to not burn coal led to a huge shift in the operation of the Intermountain Power Plant in Utah. It is moving to natural gas and a blend of hydrogen. But lawmakers were not about to let a political subdivision of Utah, occupying land using Utah water to abandon coal-fired power units that can generate an installed capacity of up to 1,900 megawatts of power. Instead, they passed legislation to ensure their continued operation, if a buyer can be found.
- In October, Utah Gov. Spencer Cox announced Operation Gigawatt. His budget just unveiled commitments to spend more than $20 million to infuse nuclear energy technology into Utah's energy grid. It also calls for additional investment in geothermal deployment. Utah has been a forerunner in this arena with the FORGE demonstration project, which Energy Secretary Jennifer Granholm called the "energy grail" for the future.
- Going nuclear. Utah has been identified as a "first mover" state when it comes to the deployment of advanced nuclear technology in its partnership with the Idaho National Laboratory. The Frontiers project aims to foster deployment in states with economic development. That can be something like a microreactor used in manufactory technology to lower emissions. Or, it could be something like the Natrium project in Wyoming by TerraPower. It is sited near a coal-fired power plant and could deliver up to 345-megawatts of power via a molten salt cooled reactor. In this environment to reduce carbon emissions, nuclear is seen as a possible replacement to coal.
- "We are in a world of hurt," said Rep. Carl Albrecht, R-Richfield, who has been in the utility business for 40 years. Utah is compromised when it comes to supporting energy loads of over 25 megawatts — or even more — to serve what new data centers would require. That power generation needs to be built out. "At some point, we're going to cross that bridge between coal and natural gas and nuclear, probably 10 to 12 years out, but if we're going to get there at some point, we need a framework on how to do that," he said. Albrecht has opened the state's first bill file to form a nuclear consortium — a pathway to the future. "If these data centers come in the states, they don't care about money. They just want generation. They don't care what the costs are. It is a brutal reality."
- The clean energy opportunity. "Utah has been dealt a clean energy flush if we can just harness it," said Logan Mitchell, with Utah Clean Energy He pointed to the Fervo geothermal plant in Beaver County and the Green River Energy Center. "We are progressing through this energy transition. We are moving forward. There is huge potential there but we have to be willing to harness it. We cannot let the fear of the challenges that exist deter us from opportunities." He pointed to a number of solar projects that have come online this year, including 360 megawatts. Utah is one of the best places in the country for solar resources, but Mitchell said there is much more to come.
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The Key Takeaways for this article were generated with the assistance of large language models and reviewed by our editorial team. The article, itself, is solely human-written.
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Amy Joi O’Donoghue is a reporter for the Utah InDepth team at the Deseret News and has decades of expertise in covering land and environmental issues.
