Is Utah's Stance of Green Energy Becoming More Clear

The percentage and source of energy supply and use for the United States

...Or is it, as the State sits in crosshairs of debate?

2nd installment of a continuing series

(refer to post on January 24, 2012 post)

An article posted on the The New York Times online edition a few days ago titled "Nuclear Power vs. Natural Gas" (http://green.blogs.nytimes.com/2012/02/10/natural-gas-vs-nuclear-power/#more-132211) presented a debate whose focus lands close to "home" for Utahns. The state sits in the crosshairs of a debate while it forges ahead on its energy (and ultimately its economic) strategy for the next ten years.

Last month, Blue Castle Holdings -- the company behind developing a nuclear power plant for the Green River area of northeast Utah -- was granted the water rights for the project by the Utah State Engineer's office. It was another key step towards seeing the project to fruition. The implications for Utah are significant. For a state whose future energy demands are rising and whose water supplies are declining, a nuclear generation plant seems an ill-fit for this intermountain state. Numerous environmental organizations share this concern.

An almost iconic image of a nuclear power plant: its cooling towers

Utah is also known for rich natural gas deposits, a resource state officials endorse as an important bridge in the transition from fossil fuels to renewable sources such as the sun and wind.  As a result, a number of existing coal-fired electric generation plants are being converted to natural gas-fired in order to reduce greenhouse gas emissions into the air. With coal as present primary fuel source in Utah (as is nationally), and natural gas

A natural gas plant

Engineer, and director of Utah State University's Energy Dynamics Laboratory, Jeff Muhs in a conversation with me last month added that the state is really interested in cleaner transportation within the state, namely by pushing more compressed natural gas conversions for vehicles. This, he says, would lower carbon emissions and clean up the air by reducing particulate pollutants from petroleum driven vehicles.

A demonstration of refilling a natural gas vehicle's tank

For Utah, the energy landscape is purposely meant to be a balance of many energy sources -- from existing fossil fuels such as coal and natural gas, to renewable sources such as solar photovoltaic and wind. This balance is endorsed by Utah's Governor Gary Herbert, and by Utah's Office of Energy Development, a department created in 2011 to guide the energy industry wisely as it slowly transitions to cleaner, more sustainable sources. This approach is seemingly in sync with President Obama and his administration as well.

Interesting, and entertaining, with the New York Times article are the reader comments posted after that swing tit for tat blows in efforts to convince an audience. Frankly, it is beyond me why no one mentions the merits of passive solar techniques, as an example, or fails to illuminate the true economics behinds solar photovoltaic (e.g., innovations in the technology are moving so fast that return on investment is presently near impossible).

Utah Governor Gary Herbert holding a copy of the state's 10-year Strategic Plan for Energy Development

As Governor Herbert's "sold-out" Energy Summit (http://event.registerat.com/oed12/) is set to take place on Wednesday, February 15, with speakers and discussion panelists representing all energy industries, an entertaining and interesting intellectual melee may be witnessed by about 1000 registrants right here in Utah. Governor Herbert has made it clear the importance of energy for the State's health and economy (http://blog.governor.utah.gov/2011/11/gearing-up-energy-summit/).

Salt Lake City and Utah in recent years have received a lot of attention for how it manages and balances its economic growth [see below] -- energy among those factors. I am hopeful a smart energy development model for the nation will emerge from here.


Some links:
http://www.kiplinger.com/magazine/archives/best-cities-2010-salt-lake-city-utah.html
http://www.wannanetwork.com/2010/10/18/forbes-utah-best-place-for-business/
http://business.utah.gov/whyutah/accolades/