People walk across state Route 9 in downtown Springdale, Utah, July 15, 2025.
A pilot program is addressing parking issues for town visitors, Springdale, Utah, Aug. 22, 2023.
This file photo shows the Springdale Town Hall, Springdale, Utah, Dec. 6, 2021.
The sun rises over wind and solar farms in Southern Utah, location and date not specified.
Solar panels installed behind the Good Shepherd Presbyterian Church are a part of a small solar farm behind the church, St. George, Utah, Aug. 15, 2024.
Stock image of a wind farm, location and date not specified.
Visitors to Zion National Park walk past the line of cars waiting to enter, Springdale, Utah, May 26, 2025.
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People walk across state Route 9 in downtown Springdale, Utah, July 15, 2025.
People walk across state Route 9 in downtown Springdale, Utah, July 15, 2025.
A pilot program is addressing parking issues for town visitors, Springdale, Utah, Aug. 22, 2023.
Stock image of a wind farm, location and date not specified.
Visitors to Zion National Park walk past the line of cars waiting to enter, Springdale, Utah, May 26, 2025.
Springdale residents will have the option to choose clean, renewable energy beginning in early 2027.
The Public Service Commission approved the Community Clean Energy Program in March, and 19 Utah communities have opted to participate, including Springdale.
“Our general plan directs us to look for ways to become more resilient and sustainable and also protect our natural resources, particularly our air quality,” Springdale Director of Community Development Tom Dansie told St. George News. “So for all those reasons, a project that allows us to get our utilities as renewable resources fits in really well with the goals and objectives of our general plan.”
The program, spearheaded by the Utah Renewable Communities initiative, has been in the works since 2019, when then-Gov. Gary Herbert signed Utah HB 411, dubbed the Community Renewable Energy Act, into law. The act directs the Public Service Commission to implement a 100% renewables plan in communities across the state in collaboration with Rocky Mountain Power.
This file photo shows the Springdale Town Hall, Springdale, Utah, Dec. 6, 2021.
“All 19 communities in our coalition are served by Rocky Mountain Power. That’s part of the statute that underlies the program,” said Glade Sowards, the Senior Energy and Climate program manager in Salt Lake City. “It’s giving those Rocky Mountain Power customers and those communities the choice to continue participating, which will happen once the ordinance is adopted, or to opt out.”
What that means for Springdale is that, in late 2026, residents will receive notices about the Community Clean Energy Program, which will reportedly include details on an additional $4-per-month charge and instructions on how to opt out if they so choose. Businesses or commercial customers will pay based on usage.
Then, in early 2027, customers who do not opt out will begin receiving services from the program, which will include a new line item on their Rocky Mountain Power bill listed as “Schedule 100,” according to Utah Renewable Communities.
Customers who prefer to opt out will have 60 days to do so without being charged a termination fee, according to Utah Renewable Communities. If residents choose to leave the program after that 60-day window, a $30 fee will be imposed for non-commercial customers. For businesses, the cost will vary. Whether customers remain enrolled or opt out, their utility provider will remain listed as Rocky Mountain Power.
The sun rises over wind and solar farms in Southern Utah, location and date not specified.
“Rocky Mountain Power cooperated with communities, Utah legislators and the PSC to advise about changes to state energy policy changes and program design so participating communities could achieve their renewable energy goals,” Tim Solomon, director of community relations, Rocky Mountain Power, said in a press release provided to St. George News. “We’ll continue to assist communities as they make further efforts to move the program forward.”
Each month, a portion of the money collected from the additional $4 residential charge will be allocated to a low-income assistance fund to provide bill credits for qualifying customers. Another portion, Sowards said, will be used to fund the acquisition of renewable resources at scale. Utah Renewable Communities undertook a separate process with the Service Commission last year to obtain approval to issue a call for renewable energy proposals to be acquired for the program.
“We received 14 qualifying bids, and we’ve been narrowing that down to a list of what we call our final short list of top candidate projects,” Sowards said. “Then we will forward as an agency in conjunction with Rocky Mountain Power to do a purchase agreement with one of those projects initially.”
Although the bids are still under negotiation, which prevents Sowards from sharing specific details, he said that examples of viable projects could include solar, wind, geothermal and hydroelectric proposals.
“A common example might be a solar farm,” he added.
Solar panels installed behind the Good Shepherd Presbyterian Church are a part of a small solar farm behind the church, St. George, Utah, Aug. 15, 2024.
Regardless of which projects are chosen by the agency, Springdale residents will have the opportunity to utilize renewable energy resources as soon as the power begins to flow in early 2027.
“The Utah Renewable Communities program creates a new pathway for residents and businesses to support clean energy in our own communities,” said Springdale Town Council Member Randy Aton in a press release provided to St. George News. “It balances Springdale’s sustainability goals with long-term energy needs while making clean energy accessible to more Utahns.”
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