Solar Cities America project shine light on hope for sun power

SALT LAKE CITY — Officials from 25 U.S. cities that are looking to integrate solar electricity into their municipal energy plans are gathered in Salt Lake City this week to brainstorm and share ideas on using the power of the sun.

Salt Lake City was among the first 12 cities awarded partnerships with the U.S. Department of Energy's Solar Cities America project in 2007. The group grew by 13 in 2008, and all of the cities share in financial and technical assistance from the federal agency in accelerating widespread adoption of solar energy.

Salt Lake City Mayor Ralph Becker greeted attendees from those cities Wednesday at downtown's Marriott City Center and highlighted his belief that solar power is an intrinsic part of moving toward clean, renewable power generation.

"To me, solar is a key component," Becker said. "The more quickly that we can make the transformation, not only in our community, but across this country to a solar-based energy system … the better off we're going to be in every facet of our society."

Becker has a long history of involvement in the advancement of renewable energy and told the crowd of about 200 that, as a law school student in the 1970s, he wrote a paper on the legal aspects of solar access. Years later, he helped craft legislation while serving in the Utah House of Representatives that made the idea part of state law.

Becker has set ambitious goals for Salt Lake City of establishing 10 megawatts (one megawatt can power about 1,000 homes) of solar panels on government buildings by 2015. The city already has partnered with Salt Lake County on a project that put 25 kilowatts of panels on Clark Planetarium, and the county is set to get into the solar game in a big way.

Thanks to $1.8 million in funding from the American Recovery and Reinvestment Act and funding secured by U.S. Reps. Rob Bishop, R-Utah, and Jim Matheson, D-Utah, Salt Lake County is preparing to seek bids on new installations that will greatly increase the amount of solar power generated in Utah. Salt Lake County Mayor Peter Corroon, who joined Becker and Gov. Gary Herbert in greeting conference attendees, broke the news of a large-scale solar photovoltaic plan that is slated for installation on at least three county-owned facilities.

"I'm proud today to announce that Salt Lake County will be creating, this year, over 1 megawatt of solar PV projects on our buildings," Corroon said. "That's double the amount of solar PV projects that have been done in the state to date."