Pub. 4 2014 Issue 1

8 AT THE CENTER OF UTAH INDUSTRY O ne thing is clear - today’s modern society runs on energy. It is instructive to take a quick look at the different power sources for electricity in the U.S.; as of 2010, the fuel required to generate electricity could be divided into the following categories: • Coal (45 percent) • Natural gas (24 percent) • Nuclear (20 percent) • Renewables (10 percent, with about three percent coming from wind and solar) Those percentages are going to shift over the next fewdecades, but not dramatically. According to estimates from the U.S. Energy Information Administration, and depending on several different scenarios (such as high or low gas prices and economic growth), the fuel required to generate electricity in 2035 may end up looking like the following: • Coal (36 to 40 percent) • Natural gas (24 to 31 percent) • Nuclear (17 to 19 percent) • Renewables (14 to 16 percent) Coal’s cheapest competitor is natural gas, and though natural gas prices historically are more volatile than coal, the price of natural gas has been dropping in recent years with increased domestic production. And, while it is certainly likely we will see an increase in renewable energy production in the future, practical limitations of wind and solar power, as well as sheer demand, will dictate the continued use of fossil fuels to meet our baseload power needs. Regarding solar energy, energy experts and the federal government recognize the potential of six southwestern states to solar energy development: • Arizona • California • Colorado • Nevada • New Mexico • Utah The goal, according to the Bureau of Land Management and the U.S. Department of Energy, is to develop utility-scale solar energy on 285,000 acres of public lands in 17 different solar energy zones throughout these six states. In Utah, the plan affects the following areas: A NEW KIND OF TRIPLE PLAY: REAL ESTATE, MINING, AND RENEWABLE ENERGY