Park City, UT
Home MenuRelease: Utah Communities Celebrate Landmark Renewable Energy Legislation
FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
April 22, 2019
Contacts:
Matthew Rojas, Salt Lake City Corporation
385-228-2365 - matthew.rojas@slcgov.com
Emma Prysunka, Park City Municipal
435-731-7275 - emma.prysunka@parkcity.org
Krachel Murdock, Summit County
435-336-3044 - kmurdock@summitcounty.org
Spencer Hall, Rocky Mountain Power
801-885-5584 - spencer.hall@pacificorp.com
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Utah Communities Celebrate Landmark Renewable Energy Legislation
Rocky Mountain Power partnered with local governments to support passage of the Community Renewable Energy Act which authorizes a path to net-100% renewable electricity
Representatives from numerous Utah communities along with Rocky Mountain Power will join Governor Gary Herbert at a ceremonial signing this afternoon for the Community Renewable Energy Act (HB 411). The legislation was sponsored by Representative Steve Handy and enables next steps towards a net-100%* renewable electricity portfolio by 2030 for Utah communities with ambitious clean energy goals.
Park City, Salt Lake City and Summit County worked with Rocky Mountain Power for over three years leading up to the passage of HB 411 to envision this first-of-its-kind legislation. The bill authorizes future regulatory filings at the Utah Public Service Commission that will define rules, rates and expectations for the community renewable energy program.
“House Bill 411 is groundbreaking legislation, not just for our state, but for the country. It also represents the biggest breakthrough ever in Salt Lake City’s pursuit of clean energy,” said Salt Lake City Mayor Jackie Biskupski, who also serves as co-chair of the Sierra Club’s Mayors for 100% Clean Energy Campaign and is the Chair of the U.S. Conference of Mayors’ Alliance for a Sustainable Future. “Powering all of our homes and businesses with renewable energy by 2030 will cut our community carbon footprint in half and create a replicable roadmap for others across the country.”
“We're in the midst of what some are calling ‘The New Energy Economy,’ which is both exciting and challenging,” said lead bill sponsor Representative Steve Handy. “When I first heard about the concept of what eventually became HB 411, the Community Renewable Energy Act, I immediately recognized it as groundbreaking. And when it comes to ‘The New Energy Economy,’ I believe that it's the role of government to remove barriers and let market forces take over, which is exactly what HB 411 does.”
Rocky Mountain Power will facilitate the transition to a net-100% renewable electricity portfolio and the utility will continue to provide all of its standard services for customers. The financial costs and benefits of the program will be isolated to participating communities so that no costs are shifted to other utility customers. Additionally, individual customers in participating communities have the ability to stay on standard Rocky Mountain Power rates through an opt-out process after the program is established.
“Park City residents deeply value their natural environment, so it’s exciting to partner with other Utah communities and our utility to further our climate goals,” said Park City Mayor Andy Beerman. “HB 411 has created a pathway for communities to work together with their utility to develop a new energy economy. We are excited to be a leader in this collaboration and show other communities that renewable energy is not just possible, but also affordable and practical.”
Goals to achieve 100% renewable energy are becoming more commonplace across the country and some cities have made major strides towards this ambition. The unique innovation with H.B. 411 is the partnership it embodies between communities and an investor-owned utility such as Rocky Mountain Power that is willing to tailor an electricity generation portfolio to meet community clean energy targets.
“This bill represents the next step in over three years of great collaboration between forward-looking Utah communities and their electricity provider, Rocky Mountain Power,” said Gary Hoogeveen, Rocky Mountain Power CEO. “We look forward to continuing our partnership with these Utah cities and counties to help power their greatness and achieve their community goals.”
Many local non-profits played a supporting role in helping shape and support this landmark legislation. HEAL Utah, Utah Chapter of Sierra Club, and Utah Clean Energy were among the stakeholders supporting robust development of renewable energy resources for participating communities.
A rulemaking process to define next steps for the Community Renewable Energy Act is underway at the Utah Public Service Commission. The legislation identified a deadline of December 31, 2019 for Utah communities to adopt a local resolution and formalize their interest in a net-100% renewable electricity portfolio by 2030.
“The Community Renewable Energy Act allows Summit County to expand and sustain our work at the forefront of the renewable energy movement,” Summit County Councilman Glenn Wright said. “Our county’s goals to transition to net 100 percent renewable energy operations by 2030 would not be possible without this victory.”
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Frequently Asked Questions (FAQs)
Salt Lake City has posted answers to FAQs about the Community Renewable Energy Act on its SLCgreen webpage. One example response regarding the term “net-100% renewable electricity" is included below:
* The term “net-100%” is used to denote that new renewable energy resources will provide enough power to meet all net-annual community electricity needs by 2030. Renewable energy projects will be integrated into the broader regional electric grid over time and power provided to participating communities will not always be directly related to renewable projects as electricity is managed for customers throughout the whole system. More details are available in the online FAQ.
Departments » Sustainability » For Homes
Cleaning Supplies
When looking for natural and non-toxic cleaning products, avoid anything with synthetic ingredients or fragrances, petrochemicals, VOCs, chlorine bleach, phthalates, formaldehydes and more. You should always read the labels of any product, and if a product does not have a label with ingredients then it almost surely has harmful chemicals inside. Look out for words like Caution, Warning, Notice and Danger, which could signal a potential harmful chemical. Learn more about healthy cleaning products here.
When purchasing natural cleaning products make sure they bottle includes a list of ingredients. You should be able to pronounce the names of all of them and should know exactly what each one is. The best kind of natural cleaning product you can buy should be made with simple ingredients that you could find in the store and make yourself.
Exposure to these toxins indoors can cause eye, nose, and throat irritation; headaches; loss of coordination; nausea; and damage to liver, kidney, and central nervous systems. And we certainly don't want ourselves, our family or our pets to come in contact with these toxins or experience any of these health problems. Children and pets are especially at risk because they experience a higher dose of toxins, not to mention their immune systems are still developing and not able to shed toxins from the bodies as quickly as adults.
There are three categories into which most of the hazardous ingredients in household cleaning products fall are:
1. Carcinogens – Carcinogens cause cancer and/or promote cancer’s growth.
2. Endocrine disruptors – Endocrine disruptors mimic human hormones, confusing the body with false signals. Exposure to endocrine disruptors can lead to numerous health concerns including reproductive, developmental, growth and behavior problems. Endocrine disruptors have been linked to reduced fertility, premature puberty, miscarriage, menstrual problems, challenged immune systems, abnormal prostate size, ADHD, non-Hodgkin’s lymphoma and certain cancers.
3. Neurotoxins – Neurotoxins alter neurons, affecting brain activity, causing a range of problems from headaches to loss of intellect.
Here are some startling facts about the chemicals found in cleaning products.
- 17,000: the number of petrochemicals available for home use, only 30 percent of which have been tested for exposure to human health and the environment.
- 63: the number of synthetic chemical products found in the average American home, translating to roughly 10 gallons of harmful chemicals.
- 100: the number of times higher that indoor air pollution levels can be above outdoor air pollution levels, according to US EPA estimates.
- 275: the number of active ingredients in antimicrobials that the EPA classifies as pesticides because they are designed to kill microbes.
- 5 billion: the number of pounds of chemicals that the institutional cleaning industry uses each year.
- 23: the average gallons of chemicals (that's 87 liters) that a janitor uses each year, 25 percent of which are hazardous.
- White Vinegar
- Baking Soda
- Borax
- Hydrogen Peroxide (3% concentration)
- Club Soda (plain)
- Lemon Juice
- Liquid Castile Soap
- Corn Meal
- Olive Oil or Walnut Oil
- Toothpaste
- Pure Essential Oils - like lavender, lavender, peppermint, eucalyptus, lemongrass, and tea tree oils
With all of these ingredients you can make your own natural and non-toxic cleaning supplies, which cost a lot less as well.
- All-Purpose Cleaners: This cleaner can be used for just about every surface in your home, from kitchen counters and appliances to bathroom surfaces and walls.
- Carpet Cleaner: To clean and disinfect your carpet, blend 1/2 cup baking soda, 1 cup borax, and 1 cup cornmeal. Sprinkle mixture over rug and rub with a cloth. Let rest for several hours or overnight, then vacuum. An even simpler way to clean your carpet is to sprinkly plain baking soda on your carpet, let rest for an hour and then vacuum up. You can also add dry lavender buds to the baking soda for an extra fresh smell.
- Hard Floor Cleaner: This solution can be used for all hard floors (except when directed by the manufacturer to avoid even mild detergents): Combine 1/4 liquid castile soap, up to 1/2 cup white vinegar or lemon juice, and 2 gallons of warm water in a large plastic bucket. Use with a mop or sponge.
- Glass Cleaner: To make your windows shine, you can simply use club soda in a spray bottle. Add 1 tsp. of lemon juice to increase your window cleaner’s degreasing power. Leftover newspaper works very well to reduce streaks
- Bathroom Surface Cleaners: You can use the all-purpose cleaners recommended above or, for even simpler bathroom cleaning, use baking soda or borax as a scouring powder. For a softer scrub, combine 1/2 cup baking soda with enough liquid soap to achieve a frosting-like consistency. You may want to add 5-10 drops of an essential oil for fragrance. Club soda works wonders on plumbing fixtures.
- Toilet Cleaner: Sprinkle baking soda or borax, or pour white vinegar into the toilet, and let sit for a few minutes. Scrub with a good toilet brush.
- Oven Cleaner: Cover the oven floor with baking soda, spray with water until very damp, and let set overnight. Spray with water every few hours before you go to bed to keep damp. In the morning, clean out the baking soda, and the stuck-on gunk will be loosened and ready to scrub off.
- Drain Cleaner: Put two tablespoons of baking soda into/over the drain of your sink or tub. Then pour one cup of vinegar on the baking soda. This will begin to fizz a lot and is completely normal. Wait a few minutes, and then pour a kettle of boiling water over the soda/vinegar residue.
- Mold Remover: Combe 1/2 cup hydrogen peroxide or white vinegar with 1 cup water. Spray on mold and do not rinse. You can also treat mold with a spray mixture of 2 tsp. tea tree oil and 2 cups water.
- Wood Polish: To polish wood furniture, dab olive oil or walnut oil onto a soft cloth and rub.
- Silver Polish: Just put some toothpaste on an old toothbrush or wet cloth and go to town. When you’re done polishing, rinse the item well in warm water and then dry with a soft cloth.