Utah
Sites with Clean Energy: 19
Total Installed Megawatts: 202
Sample Companies and Facilities Using Clean Energy:
Industrial:
Commercial
Institutional:
- Central Weber Wastewater Treatment Plant
*renewable
- City of Springville
- Holy Cross Hospital
- North Davis County Sewer Improvement District
*renewable
- Primary Children's Medical Center
- University of Utah
-
Utah State University
Agricultural:
*
Contact Us if you know of additions or subtractions from this list.
Key Utah Contacts:
Utah Policies Affecting Recycled Energy
Statewide Interconnection Procedures: Yes
Waste Heat Included in Renewable Portfolio Standard:
Yes
- Utah only has a renewable portfolio goal, not a standard. Utilities
are encouraged to meet the standard to the degree it is cost-effective
to do so. Recycled energy is included as eligible in meeting the goal.
See
the policy (waste heat is defined in section 54-17-601).
- About waste heat in renewable
portfolio standards
CHP in Utility Demand-Side Management: No
Output-based Emission Standards: No
Fair Standby Rates: No
- Standby rates are excessively high in PacifiCorp's Utah territory.
They can prevent projects from going forward or cause existing projects
to shut down. These standby rates need to be re-evaluated to include the
risk of systems going down and the benefits that CHP can provide to the
grid.
- About standby rates
Recycled Energy Specific Incentives: No
Utah Electricity Prices
Among the intermountain states, Utah ranks as having the lowest
commercial and industrial prices, followed closely by Wyoming. These prices
are substantially below the national average by about three cents lower for
commercial prices and about two cents lower for industrial prices.
| Utah average commercial retail electricity
price (2010) |
7.17 ¢/kWh |
| National average commercial retail electricity price (2010) |
10.26 ¢/kWh |
| Utah average industrial retail electricity
price (2010) |
4.94 ¢/kWh |
| National average industrial retail electricity
price (2010) |
6.79 ¢/kWh |
Source: EIA; data is year-to-date through December 2010.
Note: All data post January 2010 are preliminary estimates based on a cutoff
model sample.
Utah Natural Gas Prices
Natural gas prices in Utah, like the electricity prices, are the lowest
among the intermountain states, staying two or more dollars per thousand
cubic feet cheaper than the national average for commercial prices.
Industrial prices have stayed about on par with the national average but
with less variance (providing cheaper gas during peak times). This is
coupled with about the lowest volatility among the intermountain states, and
provides Utah with a distinct advantage when it comes to a CHP project being
economically viable.
When evaluating CHP, a considerable amount of attention needs to be
placed on the price of natural gas, and where it may be headed in the
future. The combination of relatively low electric prices and rising natural
gas prices makes it more difficult for a CHP project to be economic and
generate cost savings, but there are still going to be successful
applications for the appropriate use of CHP. The best applications are those
that value high reliability, have higher electric rates during peak times,
spend a high percentage of their energy bill on air conditioning, and/or
potentially could make use of a "waste fuel."
| Utah average commercial natural gas price (2010) |
6.88 $/TCF |
| National average commercial natural gas price (2010) |
9.23 $/TCF |
| Utah average industrial natural gas price
(2010) |
5.54 $/TCF |
| National average industrial natural gas price (2010) |
5.34 $/TCF |
Source: EIA; data is year-to-date through December 2010.
|