SALT LAKE CITY — Wind turbines and solar panels may have been novelties 10 years ago, but across America’s landscape, the embrace of renewable energy is occurring at breakneck speed, with wind power tripling in the last decade and solar energy increasing more than fortyfold.
The ramp up to renewable energy, according to a new report called “Renewables on the Rise,” is happening even as U.S. residents are becoming more savvy in the energy efficiency arena through programs that resulted in energy savings that doubled from 2009 to 2017.
That energy “not used” was enough to power more than 2.5 million homes, according to the report by Environment America.
“We do talk all the time about energy efficiency being the cleanest form of energy,” said Emma Searson, the Go Solar campaign director at Environment America, “and it should be the first line of defense as we go about shifting our energy systems.”
The report shows Utah landed among the top 10 states in the country with its increase in solar energy generation, jumping from just one gigawatt-hour of produced solar power in 200
9 to 2,575 gigawatt-hours in 2019. A gigawatt hour is 1 billion watt-hours, or enough power that is the equivalent of roughly 1.3 million horses.
Utah landed in the No. 9 spot for solar energy production increase, and a state energy profile by the Energy Information Administration said electrical generation from all solar facilities in Utah accounted for nearly half the state’s renewable energy generation. That generation, the profile said, was 25 times greater in 2017 than in 2015.
Utah is on tap to add a significant chunk of even more solar power generation with five solar projects that will come online in 2020 in support of Facebook operations, including a data center in Eagle Mountain. Overall, the company will be bringing an additional 459 megawatts of solar energy to Utah. A megawatt is generally enough to power between 900 and 1,000 average homes.








“It’s pretty remarkable progress in Utah,” Searson said. “The state deserves a lot of recognition.”
Sarah Wright, executive director of Utah Clean Energy, said it makes sense that Utah is accelerating its adoption of solar energy production because it is among the best states in the country for sunshine.
“We should be in the top 10 because we are in the top 10 for solar resources,” Wright said. “I am thrilled that we are now capitalizing on our solar resources.”

Wright pointed to a couple of key changes in Utah law and regulatory policy that helped drive the shift. The Utah Legislature changed the net metering and interconnection standards facilitating easier and more equitable adoption of rooftop solar.
Energy America’s report notes that small scale solar energy, including panels installed on residential and commercial rooftops, nearly tripled from 2014 to 2018 and utility scale generation grew seventy-fourfold from 2009 to 2018.
In Utah, Wright’s organization was involved in a case that changed how the value of solar energy was calculated and sent to the grid from big commercial projects.
“That coupled with the dramatic fall in the price of solar led to solar taking off in the state,” she said.
She said as the economics behind renewable energy become more attractive, the move toward its adoption makes fiscal sense.
“Wind and solar and geothermal are coming along,” she said. “It doesn’t mean we can transition immediately, but the economics are no longer holding us back.”
Energy efficiency programs are also delivering powerful savings through upgrades to inefficient buildings, cars and equipment, the Environment America report notes.
On a per capita basis, energy consumption in the United States fell by almost 8% from 2007 to 2018.
Utah, according to the Energy Information Administration, does pretty well on the energy consumption scale compared to other states, with only 15 states consuming less energy per capita than Utah residents.
The U.S. Department of Energy, according to the Energy America report, predicts that energy savings will continue as building codes become more stringent and states’ investments in energy efficiency programs grow.
In Utah, Wright said the energy efficiency sector employs more than 30,000 people, including engineers designing energy smart buildings and insulation installers.
“I do think that people are getting wiser about energy efficiency in Utah,” Wright said, adding that Utah’s solar ranking by Environment America on the solar front is “excellent news.”
Correction: A previous version identified Emma Searson as being affiliated with Energy America. She is the Go Solar campaign director at Environment America.