TWW Utah Director and former state legislator Steve Handy sat down with the Wildcat Economics podcast this month to discuss the findings of a major new economic impact study on Utah's utility-scale renewable energy industry — and what the numbers mean for rural communities, grid reliability and the state's energy future.
The study, conducted by the Crossroads Economics Center at Weber State University and commissioned by The Western Way, analyzed 41 utility-scale solar, wind and geothermal projects across the state. The headline: $8.4 billion in construction and investment activity from 2007 through 2028 — real money flowing into real communities, supporting real jobs and generating real tax revenue.
Handy walked listeners through the scale of the economic impact. Construction of these projects has supported more than 34,600 job-years of employment statewide, including roughly 19,300 job-years of direct onsite construction labor. Total construction-period economic output tops $5.2 billion, with $3.1 billion in value added to Utah's economy. And the benefits don't stop when construction wraps — ongoing operations support approximately 1,570 jobs and $244.6 million in economic output on an annual basis.
For rural counties, the fiscal picture is especially compelling. Handy highlighted the estimated $33 million per year in property tax revenue flowing to local governments — funding schools, fire departments and essential services in communities from Beaver County to Box Elder that have historically relied on a narrow economic base. An additional $4 million per year in land lease payments is providing rural landowners with new, stable income streams.
A central theme of the conversation was Utah's market-driven approach. Unlike many states, Utah does not have a mandatory renewable portfolio standard. As Handy emphasized, the growth of solar, wind and geothermal in the state has been driven by economics and local conditions — not government mandates. Since 2015, approximately 94 percent of new electric generating capacity added in Utah has been solar, a reflection of strong solar resources, abundant land and access to transmission infrastructure.
The discussion also touched on two areas of significant growth: battery energy storage and geothermal development. The study documents 1,170 megawatts of installed and planned battery storage capacity in Utah, with storage construction alone supporting an estimated 6,300 job-years and $865 million in economic output. Storage is playing an increasingly important role in grid reliability — giving operators more tools to manage peak demand and smooth out intermittency.
On geothermal, Handy pointed to large projects planned in Beaver County that could substantially increase Utah's baseload renewable generation later this decade. Geothermal uses the same drilling technologies that made America an oil and gas superpower, delivering around-the-clock power with a proven technological foundation — and private capital is taking notice.
All of this feeds into the broader challenge outlined by Gov. Cox's Operation Gigawatt: doubling Utah's energy production over the next decade to meet surging demand from population growth, data centers, manufacturing and more. Renewable energy — alongside natural gas, nuclear, geothermal and other sources — is a critical piece of that puzzle.
As Handy put it during the conversation, the energy business has never been a zero-sum game. Utah is proving that every single day — and the data backs it up.
Watch the Podcast: