Study finds ‘significant evolution’ in Utah’s energy landscape, with more to come

The Natural Bridges Solar Power Station in southwestern Utah is one of 57 operating utility-scale solar electricity-generating facilities in Utah. A new study shows a significant shift in the way Utah makes power, with solar becoming a major player. (Public domain photo via Wikipedia) 

In just the past five years, Utah has seen major changes in the way it produces — and uses — energy, and market pressures will demand yet more change in the years ahead.

The Beehive State has seen a significant decline in its dependence on coal-fired generation to produce electricity and has flipped back to being a net exporter of energy. Those are among the findings in a comprehensive analysis from the Kem C. Gardner Policy Institute at the University of Utah and the Utah Geological Survey published on April 30. The study highlights significant change in the energy sector and offers insights into future trends.

“Utah’s energy landscape has experienced a significant evolution in the past decade as market demands change and priorities shift,” said Michael Vanden Berg, Energy and Minerals Program manager at the Utah Geological Survey. “Understanding the data behind this evolution will help prepare Utah for future changes.”

Remarkable among the findings, Utah flipped back to being a net exporter of energy in 2024 after needing to import energy to meet demands from 2020 to 2023. From 1980 through 2019, Utah was a net energy exporter, meaning the state produced or generated more energy than needed within the state and exported the excess to surrounding states — and sometimes to other countries. Utah returned to exporter status through significant increases in crude oil production and, to a lesser extent, natural gas production, according to the study.

Also noteworthy in the study was Utah’s precipitous decline in its dependence on coal as a source of power generation. According to the report, the state’s usage of electricity from coal-fired plants dropped from 94 percent of the total power consumption to 48 percent in just the past five years. This was despite a record yearly consumption of 35,075 gigawatt-hours of electricity in 2025 — a 1.1 percent increase over the previous year.

According to preliminary 2025 data reported in the study, Utah benefits from the seventh-cheapest residential electricity price in the nation — over 30 percent lower than the national average.

Demand for coal at Utah power plants increased 8 percent in 2025 but will drop in 2026 because the Intermountain Power Plant idled its coal units and the Sunnyside plant has shut down due to a turbine failure.

Meanwhile, all the active coal mines in Utah are owned by the same company. Operated by Wolverine Fuels, only five coal mines are currently producing in the state — the fewest since mining operations began nearly 150 years ago. The idling of the Coal Hollow and Lila Canyon mines in 2023 reduced the number of active mines to four for a period of time. Wolverine Fuels then opened Utah’s newest coal mine — the Fossil Rock operation — in 2024.

Overall, coal production increased from a 45-year low of 7 million short tons in 2023 to 7.4 million tons in 2024 and 8.5 million tons in 2025, but still well below the 24.5 million tons averaged in the 2000s and 22 percent lower than just three years ago. Production at two Wolverine mines — Skyline and Sufco — accounted for 81 percent of Utah’s total coal production in 2025.

But as coal diminishes as an energy source, other fossil fuels continue to increase in importance to Utah’s energy landscape.

Rebounding from a major COVID-19 epidemic-induced hit in 2000, Utah’s total crude oil production for 2025 reached a record high of 67.9 million barrels — an average of 196,700 barrels per day — in June 2025. Production bottomed out at 69,600 barrels per day in May 2020. Ninety-three percent of this production comes from Eastern Utah’s Uinta Basin.

Utah’s refineries cranked out 81.7 million barrels in 2025, 4.5 percent higher than 2024 and the second-highest volume behind the 82.8 million barrels reached in 2022.

And Utahns continue to gobble up petroleum products — motor gasoline, diesel, jet fuel, etc. — with usage reaching a new record high of 63 million barrels (2.6 billion gallons) in 2025, according to preliminary estimates contained in the report. Gasoline made up 48 percent of total petroleum demand, while diesel represented 26 percent. Utah imports and exports significant amounts of petroleum products via pipelines and trucks, but overall, Utah is a net exporter, using only 77 percent of the product refined at Utah-based refineries.

However, the state remains dependent on out-of-state crude oil imports to supply its refineries.

The Gardner/Geological Survey study forecasts that demand for petroleum products in Utah will stay near record highs in 2026 and beyond. Petroleum demand reductions based on the electrification of Utah’s transportation sector will take years to materialize as electric vehicles still account for only less than 2 percent of total vehicle registrations.

Natural gas production in Utah has also increased (up 37 percent) over the past four years, after experiencing significant declines from 2012 to 2021. Price spikes in 2022 and 2023 resulted in resumption of gas-specific drilling that had stalled for nearly five years. New usage by natural gas power generation has also added to the increase in demand.

The most significant change in Utah’s electricity sector came from the recent exponential increase in utility-scale solar generation capacity — more than wind, hydroelectric, geothermal and biomass combined. Total solar capacity has increased to 3.2 gigawatts and now accounts for 15 percent of Utah’s total electric generation.

The research concludes by foreseeing new technologies adding to Utah’s energy sector. On the horizon are next-generation nuclear energy facilities, generation of carbon-neutral hydrogen coupled with underground storage, enhanced geothermal systems and carbon capture and sequestration facilities, the study predicts.

“Energy consumption in Utah keeps rising, whether gasoline for vehicles, natural gas for home heating or electricity to power everything else,” study authors concluded. “Balancing all these factors can be tricky, but Utah leaders will continue prioritizing proactive policy to preserve affordable and reliable energy. Utah leads out on these efforts nationally, supplying abundant energy alongside responsible environmental stewardship.”