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SALT LAKE CITY — Mayor Jackie Biskupski was in Washington on Tuesday participating in a push for new federal legislation that would help cities transition to clean energy both for municipal government and for residents as well.
The city has been working closely with Rocky Mountain Power and the Public Service Commission on an accelerated schedule to complete the transition.
By 2022, Biskupski said, the plan is to have all municipal services powered by clean energy and for the community in general to hit its goal of 100% clean energy by 2030.
The transformation of an individual community’s energy portfolio was facilitated by state legislation passed during the 2019 session.
The Community Renewable Energy Act allows Utah cities to work with the utility company and the Public Service Commission to achieve renewable energy goals. Park City and Summit County are also among those pursuing what Biskupski described as a ”clean energy” economy.
Under the measure, cities have until the end of the year to pass resolutions declaring their intention to transition to reduce their carbon footprint and be 100% “net” renewable energy — meaning all new energy coming on will be renewable, but the city is still tied to the grid.
The legislation, Biskupski said, is essential to create a plan for the transition, hence the push for federal legislation to help on a broader scale.
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While it may seem like an ambitious and overly lofty plan, leaders in the solar energy industry say they believe a variety of strategies will help get them to their goal of producing 20 percent of the U.S. energy demand in about a decade from now.“We are pushing for the federal government to do its part and create a plan to help,” she said.
Under the Utah plan, residents in cities pursuing the renewable energy portfolios do have the chance to opt out. Biskuskpi, emphasized, too, that cities will work with the utility company and the Public Service Commission to keep electricity rates reasonable for participants.
On Tuesday, Biskupski participated in an event hosted by the Sierra Club featuring similar efforts across the country.
New Mexico, for example, passed a law earlier this year that requires all electricity that utilities sell to consumers come from carbon-free energy sources, such as wind, solar and nuclear power, by 2050 or earlier.
The law was not without controversy or its opponents, however, because it hastens the closure of a coal-fired power plant, eliminating hundreds of jobs.
