Resources

Our work on the eUtah project is complemented by serious study across many disciplines. Some key resources are linked below.

Work our study builds on or complements:

• Carbon-Free Nuclear-Free: eUtah author Dr. Arjun Makhijani has been involved in energy policy discussions since his work with the Carter administration during the first OPEC crisis. His Tacoma Park, Maryland Based Institute for Energy and Environmental Research publishes frequently on energy and public health issues. Dr. Makhijani's 2007 book Carbon-Free and Nuclear-Free is a feasibility study considering full transition of United States energy supply to renewable energy sources. Dr. Makhijani's work with us on the eUtah project is a direct continuation of this work.
   
• The Utah Renewable Energy Zone Task Force (UREZ): Convened by Governor Huntsman the task force has published reports on Phase I and Phase II of the UREZ process. These documents identify economically retrievable renewable resources.
   
• Western Wind and Solar Integration Study: In July 2010 the National Renewable Energy Laboratory (NREL) released a study of renewable energy in the Western United States that finds it feasible to integrate 20% to 40% renewable generation into the present energy system.
   
• Climate-friendly, reliable, affordable: In May of this year the German Advisory Council on the Environment released a ground-breaking study which validates our hourly supply and demand matching model in application to the question of Germany's ability to meet it's energy needs with renewable resources. The German study does not do the comparative risk, cost and water use analysis that we do in eUtah.
   
• Utah Governor's Energy Task Force: In early 2011 this task force will release their 10-year Energy Plan. At this time a draft is available which outlines many of the challenges and opportunities that Utah's energy supply faces. Christopher Thomas, Executive Director of HEAL Utah, has been involved with the process and blogged about his experience.

Health effects of air pollution from energy:

• The Health Costs of Energy In Utah: Synapse Energy Economics was contracted by the State of Utah to investigate the external costs from energy production in Utah. Their study, Co-Benefits of Energy Efficiency and Renewable Energy in Utah , provides important perspective on the costs of coal power as well as a good overview of the work being done in this field.
   
• Health Impacts at the National Level: The National Academy of the Sciences has released a study that looks at the same questions as the Synapse study but on the national level.

Water consumption costs and realities of the West:

• Water in the West: The Western Governors Association (WGA) is concerned about the intersection of water use and energy and has an extensive resource page on these issues in the west.
   
• Water in Utah: Both the Governor's Energy Task force and the Synapse Report cited above comment extensively on water.

The Economics of Energy in the West:

• Energy and the West: Headwaters Economics has published an extensive investigation of energy and western economies.

Economic Growth and the Clean Energy Economy:

• Watts to Work: Nobel laureate Daniel Kammen and his colleagues at the UC Berkeley, have conducted created an impressive body of work on the workforce impacts of renewable energy development.
   
• Modeling and Utah Jobs: The National Renewable Energy Laboratory has worked with the economic modeling firm IMPLAN to create a Jobs and Economic Development Model (JEDI) for energy development. This model has been used in a number of studies of Utah potential for renewable energy based economic growth.
   
• 20/20 by 2020: Utah Clean Energy has modeled economic growth incident to following the Governor's Renewable Energy and Energy Efficiency goals in this decade.

Utah's Energy Landscape:

• Utah Geological Survey publishes energy and mineral statistics for the state.
   
• The Department of Energy also publishes price and other information for Utah through the Energy Information Administration.

Are you looking for some facts to add to a letter to the editor, or to include in comments to an elected official or regulator? Try out the links above and suggestions below. Remember, you don't have to tackle everything, just emphasize a key fact or issue that is particularly important or interesting to you.

Looking for some quick talking points?

• An energy plan that prioritizes clean renewable energy and energy efficiency will send a clear signal to the estimated half-trillion dollars clean tech global investment pool that “Utah is open for business.”

• Nuclear power is expensive and risky. More nuclear reactors have been canceled in this country than are operating today, and the nuclear industry has made it clear that without massive taxpayer support, new reactors will not be built. The financial risks plus the costs to our water resources make nuclear an impractical choice for Utah, for the next decade and beyond.

• An energy plan that prioritizes clean renewable energy and energy efficiency will diversify Utah’s economy with thousands of badly needed new jobs.

• An energy plan that prioritizes clean renewable energy and energy efficiency will attract Utah’s young and vibrant workforce that wants jobs in clean technologies, which provide long-term, high-paying jobs.

• Study after study demonstrates the high cost to our health from burning fossil fuels. Pollution from these sources never goes away; it only gets diverted. We need an energy policy or plan that recognizes these costs and prioritizes cleaner energy that protects the health of all Utahns.

• Utah’s public and all vested stakeholders should be at the table helping to shape Utah’s energy future – complex decisions should be based on what's best for Utah, as well as the best available information, peer-reviewed scientific research and data

• Renewable technologies are here, proven and ready - today! Tar sands, oil shale, and so-called “clean coal” are not, and may never be. This is the no-brainer that the investment world already understands.