The attached document is a bill passed through Utah's state Senate that outlines their mission towards 100% renewable energy by 2030 through the use of Community Renewable Energy initiatives. There's no similar legislature throughout the U.S. (at least, that I can find) that legally implements a framework for having CREs and clarifies the ways in which they can best be planted within communities to be competitive (and beneficial) over energy utilities. While it's overencumbered by a lot of the necessary legalese in creation of such a bill, there are valuable nuggets therein; their definition of a "renewable energy resource" outlines the need for "electric energy generated by a source that is naturally replenished", alongside positing technologies that will "facilitate the use and development of renewable generation resources". Interestingly, they solidify CRE usage as the default - as the norm - of which people would have to consciously opt out of, rather than opting in. Granted, this only applies within municipalities that apply for CRE acquisition, meet the requirements, and discuss their plans for renewable energy with local utilities. I find their approach awfully beneficial, in that they don't implement wide-spread change or policy that actually directs how communities are to do what they're doing - rather that so long as they and utilities come to an agreement, and they tell the State what they're doing, the community can decide what type of power they're wanting to generate (geothermal, hydro, solar, etc) and build that plan out accordingly. This bill adds value in being an already-passed piece of U.S. legislature, giving a watchful laissez-faire approach to communities that decide to enroll in this program. As of writing, at least 24 cities & counties have outlined plans to reach their 100% renewable energy goal by 2030 (as sourced from this article: https://www.sltrib.com/news/politics/2020/01/13/least-utah-cities/)
Stephen G. Handy and Daniel Hemmert, "Utah Community Renewable Energy Act", contributed by Cam LaPorte, The Energy Rights Project, Platform for Experimental Collaborative Ethnography, last modified 9 June 2020, accessed 22 December 2024. https://energyrights.info/content/utah-community-renewable-energy-act
Critical Commentary
The attached document is a bill passed through Utah's state Senate that outlines their mission towards 100% renewable energy by 2030 through the use of Community Renewable Energy initiatives. There's no similar legislature throughout the U.S. (at least, that I can find) that legally implements a framework for having CREs and clarifies the ways in which they can best be planted within communities to be competitive (and beneficial) over energy utilities. While it's overencumbered by a lot of the necessary legalese in creation of such a bill, there are valuable nuggets therein; their definition of a "renewable energy resource" outlines the need for "electric energy generated by a source that is naturally replenished", alongside positing technologies that will "facilitate the use and development of renewable generation resources". Interestingly, they solidify CRE usage as the default - as the norm - of which people would have to consciously opt out of, rather than opting in. Granted, this only applies within municipalities that apply for CRE acquisition, meet the requirements, and discuss their plans for renewable energy with local utilities. I find their approach awfully beneficial, in that they don't implement wide-spread change or policy that actually directs how communities are to do what they're doing - rather that so long as they and utilities come to an agreement, and they tell the State what they're doing, the community can decide what type of power they're wanting to generate (geothermal, hydro, solar, etc) and build that plan out accordingly. This bill adds value in being an already-passed piece of U.S. legislature, giving a watchful laissez-faire approach to communities that decide to enroll in this program. As of writing, at least 24 cities & counties have outlined plans to reach their 100% renewable energy goal by 2030 (as sourced from this article: https://www.sltrib.com/news/politics/2020/01/13/least-utah-cities/)