As you might have noticed, we here at HEAL can be pretty critical of our utility Rocky Mountain Power. We often highlight their reliance on coal-fire power and their attempts to undermine the development of independent renewables in Utah. You can read more about it in our infamous Brown Sky Report.
However, that does not mean we don’t want to give a shout out to the utility when they make a move forward. Which brings us to their new program Subscriber Solar. The idea is definitely a step in the right direction for Rocky Mountain Power.
Subscriber Solar works like this; Rocky Mountain Power has contracted with a 20 megawatt solar plant in Millard County, Utah to provide power for the next 20 years. Customers will be able to sign up for “blocks” of energy usage. These blocks are for 200 kilowatt hours (kWh) of solar energy each month. To put that in perspective, the average Utah home uses about 747 kWh a per month. So if you purchase one block you will be supplementing almost a fourth of your electricity usage with homegrown green energy. If you would like, you can purchase enough blocks to make your electricity use 100 % renewable energy!
Unlike Rocky Mountain Power’s other program “green energy program” Blue Sky which partly involves purchasing green energy in the form of Renewable Energy Credits from out of state, Subscriber Solar in generated right here in Utah. This is a big plus because it increases Utah’s overall clean energy portfolio and gives options for individuals that cannot install rooftop solar in their home, but still want to support renewable energy. The program also differs from Blue Sky in that it allows customers to lock-in the “Energy Generation Charge” portion of their bill for up to 20 years.
HEAL is strongly encouraging Utahns to sign up. Not only because we want to see more renewable energy use in our state, but also to show Rocky Mountain Power that there is a demand for this type of energy. You can watch a video and learn more about the program by going to https://www.
Your Clean Energy Jedi,
Michael Shea