Across conservative Utah, a coalition of 19 cities, towns and counties has quietly organized to add significant amounts of renewable electricity to the regional grid — even as federal policy has shifted toward supporting fossil fuels. The group, called Utah Renewable Communities, includes Salt Lake City and tiny mountain and desert towns such as Coalville, Castle Valley, Moab and Park City. Together they aim to offset the power used by nearly 300,000 homes and businesses with wind, solar and energy-storage projects by 2030.
The effort grew from local demand. Residents and municipal leaders in resort towns, agricultural valleys and rural communities say they’ve seen climate impacts — from shrinking snowpacks that threaten ski economies to hotter, drier winters that affect water and crops — and want cleaner, more reliable energy. Summit County’s sustainability director, who helped shepherd the collaboration, frames renewables as a long-term investment to strengthen the grid and reduce costs for customers.
Utah’s energy system still relies heavily on coal and natural gas; roughly three-quarters of the state’s electricity comes from those fossil fuels. Renewables account for about one-fifth of generation today. State leaders have taken recent steps to extend coal plants’ lives, and federal actions in recent years have shifted incentives away from wind and solar. Despite those headwinds, local officials pursued a legal and regulatory path to make a collective community-led clean-energy program possible.
A 2019 state law created a framework that allows groups of municipalities to work directly with the regulated utility to develop new generation for their communities. That legislation was the key enabling step. It required building consensus among political leaders across the state — including a Republican lawmaker who sponsored the bill — and navigating concerns about impacts in historic coal towns.
PacifiCorp’s Rocky Mountain Power, the utility that serves much of Utah, is now participating. The state’s Public Service Commission approved the Utah Renewable Communities program earlier this year. Under the approved plan, the utility will enroll every customer in participating jurisdictions and add a small monthly charge — currently set at $4 per household — that will fund the construction of new renewable projects. Customers who prefer not to participate can opt out, and assistance will be available so low-income households don’t carry the burden.
For many small and remote towns, the coalition model makes projects feasible. Individually, a town of a few hundred residents lacks the scale and bargaining power to attract large-scale solar or wind development. By pooling demand across nearly 300,000 accounts and coordinating with the utility and developers, these communities can secure projects that deliver carbon-free power and grid benefits that smaller purchases cannot.
Local examples show how motivations vary. Coalville, whose identity is tied to a long history of mining, is part of the coalition not as repudiation of its past but as a pragmatic look to the future. Park City, heavily dependent on winter tourism, has been driven by an urgent reaction to record warm winters and diminished snow. Moab and other small towns see economic and resilience advantages. In Castle Valley, residents say they are not radical environmentalists but want to protect their valley from worsening drought and heat.
Economics matters. Large-scale solar and wind projects — especially when paired with battery storage — have become competitive with or cheaper than new gas and coal plants, according to industry cost analyses. Advocates say renewables can improve reliability when designed with storage and modern grid management, and that adding diverse generation sources helps meet rising power demand from data centers, electric vehicles and other growth.
Political and regulatory realities remain complicated. Utility resource plans nationwide have been reshaped by recent federal policy changes and by shifting tax incentives, prompting some utilities to slow or revise renewable build-outs. PacifiCorp has acknowledged that federal actions altered economic modeling for its resource planning. Still, proponents of the Utah coalition say local action can move forward even when national policy is uncertain.
Energy experts note that a single regional program won’t stop global warming, but local initiatives can be influential. Demonstrating cost-effectiveness and community buy-in can build momentum, showing other municipalities — including in politically similar states — that a practical path exists to expand clean energy.
Utah Renewable Communities expects to announce its first project this summer and aims to be generating power by 2030. If successful, the program will provide a template for how diverse, sometimes politically conservative communities can collaborate with utilities and regulators to deliver more renewable energy, strengthen local resilience and reduce the pollution that is driving climate change.