This Impacts All. Please Read

At the recent Town Council meeting, cryptically recapped on page 4, there was a lot of discussion about the Utah Community Clean Energy Program. Town Council passed an ordinance to enact it in Springdale. It allies Springdale with 18 other Utah communities to increase clean energy production in Utah. This opportunity was discovered by Randy Aton. He and Kyla Topham have spend hundreds of hours in meetings contributing to this program in its final form.

You will be receiving a $4.00 increase to your electric bill. You have the choice to opt out. Low income subscribers to Rocky Mountain Power can be included without an increase in their bill.

Though you may opt out, this is a relatively inexpensive and painless way to contribute to the production of renewable energy sources, focusing on wind and solar, in particular.

Two main conditions would apply for a Rocky Mountain Power user to want to stay opted in:

1. Belief that wind and solar power are viable and desirable alternatives to gas, coal, and oil.

2. Confidence that the goals of this initiative to create sufficient clean energy resources can be effectively realized.

This program does not say that your house will necessarily be using clean energy but that there will be enough clean energy produced by it to offset what you and other contributors use. But, really, whether you are participating in reducing non renewable energy for your home or someone else’s, the beneficial environmental impact is the same.

This is basically a voluntary tax which goes towards renewable energy production. Another way of looking at it — it’s like buying stock in a renewable energy company, which always carries some risk. You have to evaluate whether the potential realization of clean energy is worth a mere $4 a month. The payoff would be in clean energy; it wouldn’t be like buying Apple at $6.

Some points to ponder would include: why did only 23 communities sign up in the first place — and several of them opted out? One might wonder what they know that we do not. Or maybe there are just few communities who are serious about clean energy. Also know, the free opt out period is 6 months, after that it would cost $30 to opt out.

Either way, Town Council has opted us in, but knowing we could opt out if we choose. It is clear that the more individuals who opt in, the greater chance there is of success.

The Springdale Sun hopes to help you make your decision more informed. It also hopes to not sway you particularly one way or the other. There are issues of trust as to the program’s success; there may still be issues of concern about the environmental impact of wind and solar energy for some people.

Perhaps the bottom line would be: this is a way to light a candle rather than curse the darkness.