Hundreds of energy industry professionals, scientists and policy experts are gathering in Salt Lake City this week for Utah Gov. Gary Herbert’s Energy Development Summit, an annual forum addressing some of the energy issues confronting the Intermountain West.
"This conversation will help position Utah for an exciting energy future that embraces a diversity of resources and proceeds with a dual focus on responsible practices and economic growth," Herbert’s office said in a news release.
For Herbert energy adviser Cody Stewart, the forum is a chance to remind Utahns that their state is becoming a major player in the nation’s energy landscape, thanks to its abundance of natural gas, coal and oil.
"We are not in the top three, but we are top 10 to 12," said Stewart. "We want to emphasize Utah is a leading player. We are getting bigger and bigger."
The forum will be geared toward national policy concerns since two-thirds of the state’s fossil fuel reserves are found on federal land and Utah has become an energy exporting state.
Environmentalists, meanwhile, plan to use the event to draw attention to what they say is the state’s sorry record in developing renewable sources, such as geothermal, solar and wind, and other sources that have a smaller impact on the Earth.
Renewables account for less than 2 percent of Utah’s energy production, according to the governor’s energy plan. When expressed as a share of electrical power generation, these sources represent 4.4 percent, a far smaller piece than Utah’s neighbors except Arizona, according to Matt Pacenza, policy director for Healthy Environment Alliance of Utah.
Salt Lake Tribune
