There's a lot of solar power in Salt Lake City, but you might not notice
On the Streets
By Bryant Heath
There is a sign on 1300 East just north of 2100 South in Sugar House, declaring Salt Lake City as a "Solar America City" that is "committed to a sustainable solar future" (above photo). If you've commuted on that route, you've most likely passed it unknowingly as the lettering has been—ironically—sun-faded so much it's mostly unreadable from a distance.
The initiative was part of a Department of Energy program from 2007, recognizing 25 cities across the U.S. that were highly committed to accelerating solar adoption at the local level. Not much can be found about the program online beyond 2015—I presume it is defunct—but Salt Lake City holding the title as being a Solar City is still very applicable today.
Besides running around town everywhere, one of my other hobbies is perusing Google Earth's aerial photos for local sites that are particularly interesting from above. One reoccurring thing I've noticed through all my scrolling and zooming is there are a lot of large-scale solar installations in Salt Lake.
Whether they are attached to the roofs of large buildings or situated on the ground, you can find large quantities of panels in pretty much every neighborhood. The demand for solar is so high, Salt Lake Community College—through their Workforce and Economic Development Energy Institute—has a Solar Training Program at their Westpointe Center location, where students can work on solar panel mock-ups of all varieties.
My favorite local solar installation is also one of the largest: the 2,700 solar-panel farm on top of the Utah Jazz's Vivint Arena (top photo, below) at 300 West and South Temple—one of only three NBA arenas with rooftop solar. But the funnest installation, by far, is one situated on top of the Chevron location at 500 South and West Temple (bottom photo, below).
Energy prices are so high, even gas stations are switching to renewables—a great indication of where our solar future is heading!
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