Utah Clean Energy works to advance public policy that speeds the development and adoption of energy efficiency and renewable energy technologies in Utah. Clean energy technologies help:
Sound public policy can both save money and improve environmental quality for Utahns now and in the future.
- Use the Utah Legislature Bill Tracking Service to keep track of bill progress
- Use Webwatch to recieve regular emails on bills of interest (found at the bottom of each bill's home page - simply enter your email address)
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Energy Efficiency Policies
Incentives for Highly Efficienct New Homes and Retrofits
Clean Air and Efficient Vehicle Tax Incentives
State Agency Energy Savings
1. Incentives for Highly Efficient New Homes and Retrofits – H.B. 199
House Sponsor: Representative Fred Hunsaker (R) Dist. 4, Cache and Rich Counties
This policy is designed to encourage high efficiency residential new construction and retrofits through State incentives. The incentives are modeled to compliment Federal incentives and local utility energy efficiency incentive programs in the two areas described below:
- New construction of high efficiency homes - This policy would create a tiered incentive for new homes that are built to 30%, 40% or 50% above the current Utah Energy Code (IECC 2006). In addition to exceeding the current Utah IECC code, homes would be eligible for the incentive only after meeting/surpassing advanced energy efficiency building requirements.
- Energy efficient retrofits of existing homes - This policy would provide an incentive for retrofitting existing homes for improved energy efficiency. Eligible retrofit measures may include advanced evaporative cooling systems, high efficiency furnaces and boilers, insulation, windows, as well as duct and air sealing.
2. Clean Air and Efficient Vehicle Tax Incentives – H.B. 106
House Sponsor: Representative Roz McGee (D) Dist. 28, Salt Lake County
This policy would provide a tax credit for highly efficient clean vehicles and vehicle conversions. The legislation would provide performance based, fuel and technology neutral incentives for efficient and clean vehicles. Consumers would receive a tax credit for the purchase of a new vehicle that meets air quality and fuel economy guidelines set by the US EPA (including hybrids), or conversion of a vehicle to run on clean fuel such as natural gas.
3. State Agency Energy Savings – H.B. 198
House Sponsor: Representative Fred Hunsaker (R) Dist. 4, Cache and Rich Counties
This bill creates a revolving loan fund to lend monies to state agencies to finance energy efficiency measures.
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Renewable Energy Policies
Renewable Energy Provisions
Renewable Energy Development Zones Task Force
Net Metering Programs
Energy Resource and Carbon Reduction Initiative
Solar Energy Generation Tax Credit
4. Renewable Energy Provisions – S.B. 173
Senate Sponsor: Senator Scott McCoy (D) Dist. 2, Salt Lake County
- This bill requires a 25% Renewable Portfolio Standard by 2025 for electrical corporations and municipal utilities, with interim targets leading up the end goal.
- To protect energy consumers, there is a cost cap of a maximum annual 1.5% increase in retail sales.
- This bill creates a solar incentive by requiring that at least 4% of the qualifying electricity to meet the RPS comes from solar electric generation technologies, and at least 2% of electricity sold to its retail electricity customers come from solar electric generation technologies in 2020 and every year thereafter.
5. Renewable Energy Development Zones Task Force – S.B. 169
Senate Sponsor: Senator Dennis E. Stowell (R) Dist. 28, Beaver, Garfield, Iron, Kane, Millard, Washington Counties
Establishes a Task Force which would identify potential renewable energy generation development areas and provide supporting analysis and recommend policy options to facilitate renewable energy development. The bill also appropriates funds to study the establishment of a training center for alternative energy technologies.
The Task Force would:
- Identify and map location specific renewable resource generation (wind, solar, geothermal, biomass) development areas within Utah that have the potential for economic power generation.
- Identify existing electric transmission within Utah and the location of potential new transmission which would be required to develop the renewable resource potential in the identified renewable energy development zones.
- Consider and make recommendations regarding the use of the possible policy options to facilitate renewable energy development.
6. Net Metering Programs – S.B. 84
Senate Sponsor: Senator Kevin VanTassell (R) Dist. 26, Daggett, Duchesne, Summit, Uintah, Wasatch Counties
House Sponsor: Representative Roger Barrus (R) Dist. 18, Davis County
This legislation makes changes to Utah’s current net metering policy to help to remove barriers to distributed renewable energy and cogeneration, facilitate commercial-scale renewable energy projects, and encourage more residential customers to install renewable energy systems. This bill defers a number of key decisions to the appropriate governing authority (defined as the Public Service Commission for investor-owned utilities, and the Board of Directors for rural electric co-operatives), which allows for further determination of issues to take place in the rule-making process and the regulatory arena, providing opportunities for public input on key decisions.
This bill:
- Increases the system cap for non-residential systems to 2 Megawatts (MW), from the current cap of 25 kilowatts (kW), and allows the governing authority to exceed the 2 MW limit through rules. The residential system cap remains at the current 25 kW limit.
- Expands the types of renewable energy systems available for net metering.
- Changes the calendar year (Jan – Dec) to an annualized billing period (April – March), allowing customers to roll-over excess credits month-to-month during the annualized billing period, benefiting from seasonal variations of certain renewable energy systems.
- Authorizes the governing authority to: approve a higher total system capacity for net metered electricity (i.e. total number of net metered kWs allowed on the overall system) above the current cap of 0.1% of 2007 system peak;
- Allow the governing authority to approve a value other than avoided cost for excess kilowatt-hour credits generated by the customer; any excess kilowatt hours will roll over month-to-month during the annualized billing period. Any unused excess credits are set to expire at the end of the annualized billing period.
7. Energy Resource and Carbon Emission Reduction Initiative – S.B. 202
Senate Sponsor: Senator Curtis Bramble (R) Dist. 16, Utah County
- Establishes a target that 20% of an electrical corporation's (Rocky Mountain Power and co-ops) or a municipal electric utility's adjusted retail electric sales in the year 2025 come from renewable energy resources, if cost effective;
- The retail sales are adjusted by subtracting the non-carbon sources of energy (e.g. hydro, nuclear) and future carbon sequestration from the total retail sales. The 20% target would then apply to the “carbon” component of the utility’s portfolio.
- Requires plans and reports concerning an electrical corporation's or municipal electric utility's progress in acquiring renewable energy.
- Requires the Utah Geological Survey to make rules concerning carbon capture and geological storage of captured carbon emissions.
8. Solar Energy Generation Tax Credit – H.B. 201
House Sponsor: Representative Brad Last (R) Dist. 71, Eastern Wasatch County
This bill proposes a tax credit for individuals who invest in utility-scale solar projects that are developed and owned by political subdivisions (i.e. municipal entities) such as city, town or other eligible political subdivisions. The non-refundable income tax credit would be equal to 25% of the cost of the investment in a solar system, up to $2,000. This policy would become retroactively effective starting January 1, 2008.
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Related Energy Policies
Use of State Alternative Fuel Network
School Bus Amendments
Recycling Amendments
9. School Bus Amendments – H.B. 146
House Sponsor: Representative Christine Johnson (D) Dist. 25, Salt Lake County
This bill creates a Clean School Bus Grant Program, which allocates matching funds for grants awarded by the US EPA to local school districts for the purchase or retrofit of clean school buses, and places restrictions on idling school buses near schools.
10. Use of State Alternative Fuel Network – H.B. 103
House Sponsor: Representative Fred Hunsaker (R) Dist. 4, Cache and Rich Counties
This policy would make provisions to allow certain private individuals and entities to purchase compressed natural gas through the state's fuel network under certain circumstances.
11. Recycling Amendments – H.B. 414
House Sponsor: Representative Tim Cosgrove (D) Dist. 44, Salt Lake County (Murray)
This bill establishes that state entities (including state agencies and schools) may participate in a single stream recycling program.
Contact your state representatives to let them know you want Utah to develop a diversified, clean, and sustainable energy portfolio.
It is also important to not only contact your state representative, but also the committee members who first hear the bill. If the bill is For a bill to be heard by the whole legislature, it is vital that the bill get passed through the committee first.
See our Policy page for tips on contacting and talking to representatives about legislation, which is important to you.
The Citizens Guide is also a great tool to learn more about the Utah State Legislature, how to read a bill, committees, testifying before a committee and how to get more involved.
