Moab’s status as an Environmental Protection Agency Green Power Community has been well-documented, but the proof of that claim had been on a wind farm somewhere in Wyoming, a power generator subsidized by voluntary surcharge added to PacifiCorp customers’ electricity bills.

Deb Dull, who manages community relations for Rocky Mountain Power, PacifiCorp’s local subsidiary, said Utah – and Moab – cover a significant portion of those costs. “There are more than 67,000 customers participating in Blue Sky in our six-state service territory,” Dull said at the Deccember dedication of KZMU’s new solar array. “Twenty-six thousand of them, more than one-third, are from the state of Utah, and we serve the west coast. Here in Moab, this community has the highest rate of Blue Sky participation in Rocky Mountain Power territory.”

The 12-kilowatt photovoltaic system at KZMU marks the first direct return from the Blue Sky program, as Rocky Mountain Power provided a $60,000 funding award to the radio station to help finance the project. Another funding award will help with a smaller project now being installed at the Moab Arts and Recreation Center, and Blue Sky funds will also support a solar installation at the proposed aquatic center.

According to PacifiCorp spokesman Jeff Hymas, these high-profile projects serve a dual purpose. “It’s allowed for more local projects, where people can see their Blue Sky dollars being put to use in a way that benefits the community,” he said. “With each of these projects, there’s always an educational component, so it’s not just about the electricity that’s generated using renewable resources, it’s about educating the public on these technologies and how they can benefit our communities.”

Solar contractor Kent Alcorn helped arrange the funding for KZMU. He also designed and installed the system. Alcorn said he is excited to see renewable energy produced locally.

“The tragedy is that the windmills are in Wyoming, and seven percent of those electrons, if they ever come this way, get lost in the wires coming down here,” Alcorn said. “So effectively, what we’re doing here in Moab is subsidizing an extremely clean community somewhere else.”

The reason those electrons are part of a larger stream is the systems Alcorn installs are usually “net-metered,” which means they are connected to the larger electrical grid. When the solar arrays are producing electricity, any excess is fed back into the grid – and the electrical meter on that home or business will run backward.

When the systems produce excess capacity, that electricity is credited to the customer against future electricity bills. In addition to the credit for excess energy, being connected to the grid allows customers to use Rocky Mountain Power’s electricity when the sun goes down. If they produce enough energy during daylight hours, their bills could be zero.

However, despite higher costs associated with solar power – as much as 23 cents per kilowatt hour for solar versus 8 cents per kilowatt hour for electricity off the grid – Rocky Mountain Power issues the credit based on the value of their electricity. Alcorn said he sees some inequity in that.

“Mrs. Jones, in order to get renewable energy, quote, from Wyoming, paid an extra $1.95 for a hundred kilowatt hours of renewable energy,” Alcorn explained. “Wait a minute – KZMU is generating renewable energy right here, in Utah. It’s here, available not only for KZMU, but those electrons, when they go back up that wire, they fire up Mrs. Jones’ toaster over there in Spanish Valley. Why is it that they’re only getting 8 cents a kilowatt hour for renewable energy they generate right here in Utah, when Mrs. Jones is paying and extra $1.95 for every 100 kilowatt hours that she gets from Wyoming? It seems to me that KZMU should be getting more for renewable energy that they generate, but even more because they’re doing it here.”

Net-metered systems have come a long way in the two and a half years Alcorn has been in business. Not only was his demonstration project on Mountain View Drive not subsidized, it was hardly even approved. “The funny thing is the law was there, but I had people knocking on my door saying, ‘Do you know what you’re doing is illegal?’” Alcorn said.

Today, new projects can receive incentives from Rocky Mountain Power apart from the funding awards and net credits. The company offers $2 per watt for new installations, with a cap of three kilowatts for homes and 15 kilowatts for businesses.

However, only 107 kilowatts of incentive funding are available each year, and it goes quickly. “This year, the program became active on Tuesday, and the T-I that Thursday printed an article about this wonderful rebate program from Rocky Mountain Power, all the money had already been gone,” Alcorn said, noting that part of the reason the incentives were snapped up early is he faxed in applications for his customers at 12:01 a.m. that Tuesday. “They hate me in Salt Lake City – they say, ‘Oh you’re that guy in Moab who got all the rebates.’”

So far, American Solar Power has installed about 20 solar systems in Moab, 10 net-metered photovoltaic arrays and 10 solar water heaters. While Alcorn is pleased with that success, he believes he can bring the costs of solar generation way down with economy of scale. Instead of installing individual systems on homes, he envisions a collective station.

“Let’s generate where it exists, close to where we need it,” Alcorn said. ”My plan would be to use the [state School and Institutional Trust Lands Administration] land down here at the old city of Moab Airport. We could put at least 16 megawatts of solar generation out at the old airport. When the sun comes out, you generate it, you invert it, you send it into the grid, and you power all of Moab and probably Crescent Junction and Green River. You don’t have to bring it down from umpteen hundred miles away. Even with today’s technology, I bet we could come close to Rocky Mountain’s costs.”

The plan could also employ the pumped storage idea, which drew fire last year when a company proposed flooding two canyons near Moab to use varying water levels to generate electricity. While that proposal involved sensitive public lands, Alcorn believes it could be feasible using Ken’s Lake and an additional storage basin.

The idea isn’t as far-fetched as it might seem, he said. “There are 19 gigawatts of that kind of what’s called ‘pumped storage’ in the United States right now,” he said. “You get about 75 percent of your input back.”

Dianne Nielson, energy advisor to Utah Gov. Jon Huntsman, was also at the KZMU dedication. Nielson said the state is interested in creative solutions to renewable energy generation. “It’s about people deciding that there’s a different way to generate energy, that their energy can create energy in looking at new ways to accomplish important objectives,” Nielson said. “The state of Utah has established a goal for renewable resources. We have 20 percent by 2025, and that means 20 percent generated by renewable by 2025.”

Alcorn believes that will take more than active solar contractors – it will take political action. He cites Germany’s success with solar power as an example. “Germany has 44 percent of all the photovoltaic energy generated in the world,” he said, while noting Germany doesn’t have anywhere near Moab’s solar resource. “They get about one kilowatt hour a square meter a day of solar radiation. Utah, right here, gets at least five and a half kilowatt hours a square meter a day. Now, are we three times as stupid as the Germans?”

Now that he understands the nuts and bolts of solar power, as well as the bureaucracy, Alcorn said he plans to focus on bending the socio-political will. “Why is it, with all of this sunshine, it took a retired French teacher to come to this town, and within two years set up 10 photovoltaic systems, and ten hot water systems?” he said. “Why didn’t we do that before? It’s a mindset more than anything else, and that’s what needs to change.”