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Salt Lake City, UT
October 8, 2009: Salt Lake City receives Recovery Act funding for Solar America Cities Special Projects.
The goal of the Solar Salt Lake program is to develop a fully-scoped city and county-level implementation plan that will facilitate at least ten megawatts of new photovoltaic (PV) installations in the government, commercial, industrial, and residential sectors by 2015. With roughly 40% of Utah's 2,500,000 residents living within the boundaries of Salt Lake City and Salt Lake County, and given the area's excellent solar resources, the solar implementation plan has the potential to significantly impact the development of solar energy in the state of Utah.
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Credit:Utah Solar Energy Association
8 kilowatt photovoltaic (solar electric or “PV”) system installed on the Dolores Doré Eccles Health, Wellness and Athletic Center at Westminster College.
Credit:Utah Solar Energy Association
Two solar thermal collectors, with 30 evacuated tubes each, provide all of the domestic hot water heating and some space heating in this Salt Lake City home.
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Activities
Salt Lake City aims to significantly drive the use of solar energy throughout Salt Lake Valley over the next eight years and beyond. The goal of the “Solar Salt Lake” program (the name of Salt Lake City's Solar America Cities effort) is to develop a fully-scoped city and county-level implementation plan that will facilitate at least ten megawatts of new solar PV installations in the government, commercial, industrial, and residential sectors by 2015. To achieve this aggressive goal, the Solar Salt Lake strategy includes a combination of barrier identification, research, and policy analysis that utilizes the input of various stakeholders. The result will be a comprehensive plan for Salt Lake City and Salt Lake County that supports long-term solar deployment, including integration into City/County planning and facilities, the introduction of policies and regulations that support solar adoption, the integration of solar in new housing developments, evaluation of solar bonds and other funding sources, and community-wide solar education and outreach.
- Identifying and reducing barriers to solar deployment in Salt Lake City and County.
- Implementing a comprehensive plan for Salt Lake City and County that establishes a long-term commitment to solar deployment.
- Partnering with private entities, including land developers, to advance residential solar installations in new housing developments.
- Increasing solar energy capacity by installing an additional 10,000 solar photovoltaic systems by 2015.
Partners
- Kennecott Land
- Rocky Mountain Power
- The Salt Lake City Corporation (Project Lead)
- Salt Lake County
- Utah Clean Energy
Solar Rebate Program Expansion and Third Party PPA Legal AnalysisThe City will engage the Utah Public Service Commission, Rocky Mountain Power, and solar stakeholders to improve the business environment for solar, in particular by expanding the utility rebate program and allowing third party power purchase agreements.
Financing Options for Mid to Large Scale Solar SystemsIdentify and implement innovative financing structures for solar installations on Salt Lake County facilities, such as new market tax credits combined with a third party power purchase agreement. These financing structures will serve as a model for other nontaxable entities, such as local governments, schools, churches and nonprofits.
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