Deseret Power breaks ground on solar project adjacent to its Bonanza Power Plant

Deseret Power, a regional electricity generation and transmission cooperative based in South Jordan, has broken ground on a new 15-megawatt solar project adjacent to the company’s Bonanza Power Plant near Vernal in Uintah County. The cooperative’s members — Bridger Valley Electric, Dixie Power, Flowell Electric, Garkane Energy, Moon Lake Electric and Mt. Wheeler Power — said that the installation will provide low-cost electricity to rural cooperative customers throughout the state of Utah and the West.

“Deseret Power is a leader in affordable, reliable energy for our members,” said Deseret Power CEO Dave Crabtree. “While solar energy does not provide 24/7 electricity, we are able to balance this project’s output with our other energy resources to continue to provide reliable and affordable energy to our members.”

The solar project will be able to power the equivalent of 10,000 homes when the sun is shining, the organization said. It will complement Deseret Power’s existing supply of affordable electricity. Utah is a leader in low-cost energy, recently being ranked as the No. 1 state in America for electric affordability, according to the annual Citizens Utility Board report, a Deseret Power statement said.

“Utah is proud to be an all-of-the-above energy state,” said Greg Todd, Gov. Spencer Cox’s energy advisor and director of Utah’s Office of Energy Development. “The construction of a new solar project next to an operational coal plant is a perfect example of Utah’s energy strategy. We are proud of Deseret Power’s leadership as a provider of reliable and affordable electricity in Utah.”

Deseret Power owns 223 miles of transmission lines and 530 megawatts of generation, including the Bonanza Power Plant.