Energy alternatives exist but at a higher price tag

The Blundell plant is operated by PacifiCorp. Eskelsen said the company recently installed a heat-recovery generator, which added an additional 11 megawatts.

Small geothermal power plants in the Cove Fort-Sulphurdale region of Beaver County have been used to supply power to Provo, notes the UGS.

The U.S. Department of Energy says on one of its Internet sites, "Agribusinesses in Utah use thermal waters directly to provide heat to greenhouse and aquaculture facilities while avoiding the price fluctuations associated with fossil fuels."

But the projects are small-scale. There's not much chance to have utility-size geothermal power in Utah because "you're limited to the amount of hot water and steam the site can produce," Eskelsen said.

Solar power

Greg Whipple, president and founder of Solar Unlimited, Cedar City, says he has been putting in residential solar power systems for a decade and "it's getting better and better."

New regulations mean that homes with rooftop solar panels can tie into the normal power grid and generate their own solar power. They can use utility electricity when needed, he said. "There's going to be a huge market that's coming in right now."

That's especially true in the Southwest and Southern states, he added. Those states soak up more sunshine from the nuclear furnace in the sky.

"It's cheaper to put it in because there's no batteries involved" when a home remains on the grid. It doesn't need to store power in expensive batteries or other devices so it can be used at night. Instead, in those hours the home switches over to the utility.

"During the day, when you pay more for power at the peak power demand, the solar panels are producing power," Whipple added. In southern Utah, peak power demand surges during the summer's heat, when electricity is needed to run air conditioners and swamp coolers.

He says homeowners with solar panels are happy because eventually their costs go down, the utility is happy because there's less power drawn during peak demand, and "it reduces some of the CO2 emissions" that would be spewed by coal-burning plants.

Asked how much a homeowner can save over 30 years by using solar power, Whipple said he did not want to analyze it that way because utility bills are complicated. Rather, "we can look at how much (of the power bill) it can offset and how much power the solar will produce."

After rebates and tax breaks, he said, a homeowner will break even in 15 years or less.

"The solar panels come with a 25-year warranty on average, with a life expectancy of 50 years or better." Solar panels produced by Bell Labs in 1954 are still meeting specifications, Whipple said.