Photos and captions by: Brian Doll, SOLV Energy Photographer
Salt Lake City celebrated a huge milestone in its goal of sourcing nearly 100 percent of municipal electricity from clean energy sources by joining partners in breaking ground on Elektron Solar, a 104 MWdc PV project in Tooele County, Utah. The SOLV Energy team joined client D.E. Shaw Renewable Investments (DESRI) to kick off the project alongside SLC Mayor Erin Mendenhall, Rocky Mountain Power and Enyo Renewable Energy on October 19th.
Elektron is the result of collaboration between six customers that aggregated their demand for renewable energy into an RFP hosted by Rocky Mountain Power for a large solar farm. The six customers include three local governments (Salt Lake City, Park City, and Summit County), one higher-education institution (Utah Valley University) and two ski resorts (Deer Valley Resort and Park City Mountain). Each customer has an aggressive clean energy goal that will be met through the project.
Elektron Solar is owned and will be constructed by DESRI. The project was originally developed and permitted by Utah-based developer Enyo Renewable Energy. Elektron is anticipated to create approximately 100 construction jobs and will be an ongoing source of revenue to both Tooele County as well as the State of Utah’s School and Institutional Trust Lands Administration, which owns the land on which the project is sited.
When constructed, the 80-MWac solar project will be among the largest solar generators connected to the Rocky Mountain Power system. The larger facility size will enable customers to meet a significant portion of their demand with the project’s production at a very competitive price. Salt Lake City Corporation expects to source the majority of its annual electricity from the project beginning in 2023 while seeing the electric bill for City operations increase by less than 2 percent.
News item from Salt Lake City Mayor's Office
Hy Martin, DESRI Chief Development Officer
DESRI has invested $30 million over the past three years and plans to invest an additional $40 million in future projects. The Elektron project will be built on land reclaimed from the EPA.
Christine Watson Mikell, Enyo Renewable Energy Founder & Principal
Christine emphasized how this site wouldn’t have been possible without the collaboration and coalition of community, state agencies and boots-on-the-ground legislative and regulatory work. The passage of HB411 Community Renewable Energy Act opened the door for projects like Elektron to be developed and built.
Mayor Erin Mendenhall, Salt Lake City
This project will bring Salt Lake City to 80% of its goal to generate 100% of its electricity from renewable energy.
Mayor Andy Beerman, Park City
The developing issues surrounding climate change has impacted snowpack and this project will help Park City get closer to its renewable energy generation goals.
Glenn Wright, Summit County Council Chair
On pace to reach 100% renewable energy for all government operations nearly seven years ahead of the Council’s 2030 goal, Glenn emphasized that the Council's goals are not possible without strong community partnerships.
Members of all project teams on-site for the start of an exciting project and a stake in the ground for what’s to come for Utah’s renewable energy future.
A strong showing (as usual) for the SOLV Energy team!
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