Chapter Five: Energy

Chapter Summary

Brian Steed

Utah law specifies that “It is the policy of the state that Utah shall have adequate, reliable, affordable, sustainable, and clean energy sources” (Utah State Code 79-6-301). Meeting each of these attributes is challenging. The pursuit of adequate, reliable and affordable energy sources has led to a reliance on carbon-intensive energy production. Indeed, according to the federal Energy Information Administration, 53% of Utah’s electricity production came from coal-fired power plants in 2022. An additional 26% came from natural gas fired power in that same time frame. These sources, however, are frequently criticized as neither sustainable nor clean.

Utah has also seen a recent surge in wind and solar electricity generation, which are often held up as more clean, sustainable, and increasingly affordable. But these sources also have limitations in that they struggle at providing base-load power, calling into question their adequacy and reliability. Hence, Utah is seeking alternatives. 

In 2023, Rocky Mountain Power indicated its intent to develop adequate, reliable, and carbon-free energy from nuclear sources. Plans are still in the works to identify how affordable and sustainable these efforts might be. Other sources such and geothermal and hydrogen are showing real promise to further meet the state’s energy needs, but they are largely still in the development phase.

Energy will truly prove to be the challenge of our day, which highlights the necessity for quality research and innovative approaches. In the following sections, we highlight some of the insights of researchers at USU in the energy space.

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