Utah's energy plan is stuck in a romance with fossil fuels, writes Aarushi Verma, a youth climate organizer and a quantitative economics major at the University of Utah. 'Fortunately, it’s not yet a done deal.'
Trent Nelson | The Salt Lake Tribune Oil wells along the Nine Mile Canyon National Backcountry Byway in Duchesne County, Tuesday January 19, 2016.Every 10 years, state policy makers update Utah’s energy plan. We’re there, again; and the Office of Energy Development folks have releasedInnovative? No. More of the same.
Why the discrepancy? Because Utah’s “cheap” energy is generated mostly by burning coal and methane , the leading climate busters and sources of air pollution in the state. Utah’s “cheap” energy comes at a cost that Utahns’ monthly electric bills do not reflect. A 2020 Brigham Young University study noted that up to 8,000 Utah premature deaths annually are attributable to fossil fueled air pollution that costs our state as much as $3.3 billion.
OED’s old-school draft energy plan proudly proclaims “We [Utah] are in the top 15 states for producing coal, crude oil and natural gas.” The state pledges millions for fossil fuel infrastructure, like the Uinta Basin Railway and coal export terminals, while its partner utility fights to decrease the value of rooftop solar energy.
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