It all started with the best environmental intentions: to take full advantage of the solar energy to generate domestic electricity. Then came disagreements and even the threat of a lawsuit.
However, as we began to explore our options for each other, we realized there might be a solar solution that more Utahns would embrace – if only more of them knew about it.
Certainly we all need to do what we can to help stop the climate change which hits our state particularly hard. Renewable solar energy can be a valuable weapon in this battle.
But to start this story at the beginning: we are both residents of the Stone Cliff community in St. George. Clay Wilkes, a dedicated environmentalist, wanted to install solar panels on his roof. LaDel Laub, a board member of the Stone Cliff Homeowners Association, stuck to the guidelines of the HOA and spoke out against it, on cosmetic grounds.
After the rejection by the HOA, a frustrated Wilkes determined he might need to sue the homeowners association. But discussing the matter further, we decided there might be a way to resolve the dispute – in a potential victory for all parties.
Laub also happens to be the general manager of Dixie Power, St. George’s utility company. He is also a board member of Deseret Power Grid, a transmission line operator and coal-fired power plant in eastern Utah.
Since 2008, Dixie has operated a community solar farm that could provide solar electricity to Wilkes’ home and up to 200 others in St. George. It was news for Wilkes – despite his environmental awareness and activism.
The more Wilkes learned, the more he realized that letting the experienced power company supply the electricity generated by the sun, and letting Dixie handle all the logistics involved, might make more sense than the rooftop approach he had envisioned. .
As we continued to consult, we realized that for solar power to really catch on among Utah homeowners, we needed to get the word out. This is what this article is about.
It is entirely possible, of course, to put solar panels on your roof, or to install a solar panel in your yard. In the sunniest parts of Utah, you could generate much of the electricity your home needs. But the sun always sets. And cloudy days aren’t much help either.
So unless someone wants to live completely off-grid, it’s very common to connect your home installation to the power company’s grid. This way you will always have power. And during times when you generate your own electricity, the power company will give you a credit on your monthly bill.
But managing the transfers between the two power sources and performing the monitoring necessary to keep accurate accounts – all of this involves complex hardware and software that might make many owners think twice. Even Wilkes, who has technology patents to his name and who founded and ran a large company, decided that household electricity might be best left to the experts at the local utility – as long as he could guarantee to supply it with the same amount of energy produced by solar energy that a domestic installation could create.
Dixie Community Solar Service, where the utility can provide it, operates as follows. The consumer signs up for a plan that ensures their household will receive as much solar-generated electricity as possible. The rest of the time, electricity comes from Dixie’s conventional power plants, most of which are coal-fired. Dixie manages transfers between power sources and monitors accrued credits each month and adjusts the bill accordingly.
Currently, solar electricity costs on average about 2 cents more per kilowatt hour. But as the cost of solar technology continues to fall and more consumers sign up to the plans, Dixie expects the price to drop – and hopes it could eventually be even cheaper than electricity conventional.
In addition to its community solar farm in St. George, Dixie also owns one in Beryl, Utah. A third, and largest to date, is under construction in Vernal, Utah, alongside a coal-fired power plant. Even when the Vernal solar facility goes into service, Dixie will only be able to offer its solar plan to about 2,500 of the 25,000 residential customers it serves in Utah.
And so, there’s a vicious circle: Unless more households sign up for Dixie’s existing solar plans, the utility won’t have the demand and financial incentive to continue building and expanding its solar installations.
A similar dilemma exists for Utah’s other major utility companies, including Rocky Mountain Power, the Intermountain Power Agency, and Provo Power. All offer community solar plans, but none of them could currently meet consumer demand if every residential customer suddenly wanted to switch to solar power. And right now, much of the solar power produced in Utah is exported to California and other states.
It is in everyone’s interest that Utah transition to solar power as quickly as possible. So consumers who care about doing their part to curb climate change – and nowadays, who can afford not take care — would be wise to explore their local options.
And if their power company can’t provide solar power yet, they should demand that their supplier increase their solar capacity. The more households that switch to such plans, the more utility companies will be willing and financially able to invest in solar energy. This demand, perhaps with a little political persuasion, could also help conserve more of the solar-generated electricity in Utah.
We might continue to disagree on whether aesthetics should be a reason to reject solar power, if that’s a homeowner’s only option. But before you sue anyone about it, take some time to consider whether the local utility might actually be able to offer the climate-friendly option you’re looking for. And if not, find out why – and how soon they can.
Clay Wilkes is co-founder of the Red Crow Foundation, an environmental philanthropy, the benefactor of the Wilkes Center for Climate Science and Policy at the University of Utah, and was founder and CEO of Galileo Financial Technologies, a company acquired by SoFi. LaDel Laub is Chief Financial Officer of Dixie Power.