Utah's Renewable Resources
Beaver County is the epicenter of renewable power producing resources in the entire region. In 2008 then Governor Jon Huntsman formed the Utah Renewable Energy Zones Task Force. The first task of that group was to identify and catalog the renewable resources throughout the state, specifically wind, solar and geothermal. The results of that first phase identified southwest Utah with Beaver County at the center as home of the richest renewable resources in Utah. Beaver County has abundant economic resources in wind, solar and geothermal.
With Intermountain Power Project and the origin of the 500,000 volt direct current transmission line owned by the Southern California Public Power Authority (SCPPA), Beaver County is the ideal place from which to export renewable power to the Los Angeles Basin.
Raser Technologies' 10 megawatt geothermal plant in southern Beaver County
The Beaver County Zoning Ordinance is friendly to renewable development. Most utility scale projects are positioned in the Multiple Use Zone which requires a Conditional Use Permit prior to the issuance of a building permit. The process for issuing the Conditional Use Permit can generally be complete within 60 days. Raser Technologies was able to complete the plant pictured above in less than 12 months from initial contact with local authorities to ribbon cutting ceremony. The local permits were issued in approximately 30 days with the balance of the time used in actual construction.