1. What is Utah’s Solar Energy Resource Potential?
2. What are the Technologies and Applications?
3. What are the Benefits and Challenges to Solar in Utah?
4. What incentives are available for solar?

1. What is Utah’s Solar Energy Resource Potential

Utah has a tremendous and largely untapped solar resource, and the potential for solar development is widespread across the state.  The technical resource potential varies for each type of solar technology and application, for example: 

Concentrating Solar Power (CSP): According to the Utah Renewable Energy Zone Task Force Report, Utah's technical potential for CSP is about 826 Gigwatts (GW) - or 826,000 MW. This represents 16,500 technically potential 50-Megawatt sites, covering appriximately 6,371 square miles of land.  

This amount of concentrating solar potential could generate over 1.5 million Gigawatt hours per year (GWh/yr) - equivalent to the annual electricity demand of over 150 million average Utah homes.  

Rooftop Solar Photovoltaics (PV): Utah's technical potential for roof-top solar PV (in 2010) is approximately 5 Gigawatts (GW), or 5,000 Megawatts (MW),¹ which could produce 7 million megawatt hours of electricty per year (MWh/yr) - enough to power over 720,000 Utah homes for a year. 

 2. What are Technologies and Applications?

• Concentrating Solar Power (CSP)
• Solar Photovoltaics (PV) – Electric
• Solar Thermal – Air & Space Heating
• Passive Solar

3. What are the Benefits and Challenges to Solar in Utah?

Benefits: Solar energy is one of the fastest growing energy resources in the world, providing an inexhaustible and clean source of electricty and heat.  Solar's primary benefit is its ability to provide "peak power" during the hot summer months, supporting potentially strained electricity grids and reducing the need to bring on new peaking capacity.  The additional benefits of solar are enumerated below. 

Utility-scale solar has the ability to stimulate needed economic development in the state; for example a 100 Megawatt Concentrating Solar Power Plant has the potential to create over 1,000 new jobs generate $370 million in private investment.² 

While a complete cost-benefit analysis for distributed solar has not been conducted in Utah, a number of studies conducted nationwide suggest that on-site distributed solar can provide the following benefits: 

1. Reduced demand-side consumption;
    
2. Reduced fuel consumption and reduced O&M costs associated with central station electricity generation;
    
3. Reduced transmission and distribution (T&D) line losses, providing an energy loss savings value;
    
4. Electricity produced at a stable price over the duration of the life of the system, providing a hedge against volatile fuel costs;
    
5. Offset or delayed need for new generation capacity;
    
6. Relief to congested T&D systems and reduced/delayed need for T&D upgrades;
    
7. Support to our strained power grid during on-peak hours; in the case of solar photovoltaic systems, proper orientation can provide electricity during both mid-afternoon and late afternoon/evening peak hours;
    
8. Environmental benefits, including no air or water pollutants and no greenhouse gas emissions, which provides a hedge against impending carbon regulation.

Challenges: The challenges to solar development in Utah include: public education and understanding of solar technologies, economics, state policies and utility regulatory structure, emerging solar market, and local codes/ordinances.

4. What incentives are available for solar? 

A list of available state and federal incentives can be found at:

• Database of State Incentives for Renewable Energy and Efficiency

Or, visit our How To section for information on incentives by application, resource and technology.

1. Chaudhari, M.; Frantzis, L.; Hoff, T.E., "PV Grid Connected Market Potential in 2010 under a Cost Breakthrough Scenario," prepared by Navigant Consulting for the Energy Foundation,

 2. Mancini, Dr. Thomas.  Sandia National Laboratories, United States Department of Energy.  Concentrating Solar Power (presentation).  Utah Energy Forum. Salt Lake City. Novemeber 30, 2007.

3. Utah Clean Energy and Western Resource Advocates Comments to the Public Service Commission on Docket 08-035-78 In the Matter of Consideration of Changes to Rocky Mountain Power's Schedule No. 135 - Net Metering Service, submitted November 26, 2008.