Construction has begun on an 80-megawatt solar farm that will power Utah Valley University (UVU) into the future and bring the school closer to achieving its renewable energy goals.

D.E. Shaw Renewable Investments (DESRI), in collaboration with Enyo Renewable Energy and Rocky Mountain Power, held the groundbreaking on Tuesday, Oct. 19, in Tooele County. Once completed, the Elektron Solar project will provide renewable energy to Salt Lake City, Summit County, Park City, Deer Valley Resort, Park City Mountain Resort, and UVU.

Once finished in 2023, the solar farm will be among the largest solar power sources connected to the Rocky Mountain Power grid. Each customer will receive electricity that is generated from the solar panels and pushed through the grid. UVU will get over 90% of its power needs from this source.

“I think UVU is one of the first parties to get involved and say, ‘we’re gonna do this.’ And that first step is the step that most people don’t take until they see someone else take it,” said Hy Martin, chief development officer of DESRI. “We’re thrilled to be in partnership with the UVU team and to see them be among the first movers in the university community to adopt clean energy like this.”

UVU administrators joined Salt Lake City Mayor Erin Mendenhall and other local leaders at the groundbreaking.

“UVU wanted to do more with climate change and renewable energy and sustainability,” said Frank Young, associate vice president of facilities planning at UVU. “This helps us get toward our carbon neutral goal that President Tuminez wanted us to adopt. We want to be good stewards of the property and help the air to be cleaner in Utah County. We want to show our students that we are serious about sustainability.”

The Elektron Solar project has been in the works for several years, starting with just a few activists lobbying for renewable energy. When the project became a reality, UVU connected with Rocky Mountain Power and signed on to soon be powered by the sun and help save fiscal resources and the environment simultaneously.

Genevieve Richards, coordinator of sustainability at UVU, emphasized the financial advantages in addition to the environmental benefits of switching to renewable energy. “For an entire 25 years, UVU will have a fixed utility rate,” she said. 

Young also mentioned that the power rate will be a little higher than UVU’s current rate but said the university has saved plenty of money through energy savings projects. One such project is taking down fluorescent lights throughout certain parts of campus and switching to LED lightbulbs, which has helped UVU to save 20% of the amount of energy but double the amount of light. Through these projects, UVU is now saving nearly $250k annually on energy costs.

“Our DESRI team is building projects across Utah right now, and I think one of the biggest segments we’ve seen is universities getting involved, understanding their own climate needs, and making sure that they’re participating in the clean energy economy,” Martin said. 

The Tooele County solar project will be one of the largest generators connected to Rocky Mountain Power’s Utah grid when it is completed.