Salt Lake County, Utah this week became the eighth community in the state to commit to achieving 100% renewable electricity by 2030. The county’s council passed a resolution on Tuesday establishing a goal of powering the county with 100% renewable electricity by that year – one which requires local utility Rocky Mountain Power (RMP) to replace fossil fuel generation with renewable energy resources to meet the new commitment. In 2020, RMP will have to issue a filing at the Public Service Commission, conduct a year-long demand study, and begin the process of setting new electricity rates for participating customers.
Salt Lake City, Park City, Moab, Cottonwood Heights, Holladay, Oakley, and Summit County have already committed to achieving 100% renewable electricity by 2030, in compliance with HB411, the Community Renewable Energy Act. HB411, which was signed by the Governor earlier this year, protects municipalities and counties that commit to 100% renewable energy from the costs of continuing to operating RMP’s coal fleet past 2030. Per the legislation, the deadline for cities and counties to join the program is December 31, 2019.