Utah will continue to rely on coal, natural gas and crude oil to meet its energy needs, and less on renewable resources, state officials said Tuesday during the annual Unconventional Fuels Conference at the University of Utah.
Officials discussed the state’s 10-year energy initiative, which calls for the establishment of a centralized state energy office and a research triangle made up the U. of U., Utah State University and Brigham Young University to help develop energy technologies.
The plan, however, does not estimate the costs of implementing its recommendations.
The initiative categorizes Utah’s oil shale and oil sands as unconventional fuels, along with uranium, hydroelectric, geothermal solar, wind and biomass. It was the development of oil shale and oil sands that was discussed at the conference. Organizers pointed to a 2005 Rand Corp. report indicating that the world’s largest known oil shale deposits are in the Green River formation, which covers portions of Utah, Colorado and Wyoming. Salt Lake Tribune
