Salt Lake City is addressing the impacts of climate change through a variety of local efforts, including policy actions, sustainable infrastructure implementation, and the management of alternative fuel fleets. The city's strategy focuses on reducing energy waste and mitigating pollution to improve regional air quality and manage resource use.
Policy and Executive Mandates
The City has implemented several executive orders and ordinances to manage energy and infrastructure. In 2015, the City enacted the Comprehensive Energy Management Executive Order, which requires the annual benchmarking of energy consumption for all City facilities measuring 3,000 square feet or larger. This order targets all City operations requiring electricity, natural gas, or other energy resources to ensure responsible resource use.
Building on these efforts, Mayor Jackie Biskupski signed the Sustainable Infrastructure Executive Order on Jan. 12, 2017, which called for citywide collaboration on sustainability. This order directs departments to coordinate on infrastructure projects to prioritize the reduction of greenhouse gas emissions, resource use, and the improvement of water quality. In 2017, the City codified these various policies into a single Comprehensive Sustainability Policy, which was updated in 2023 to include more detailed sections regarding sustainable infrastructure.
Building Energy Regulations
Local legislation has specifically targeted the energy efficiency of private and commercial buildings. In August 2017, the Salt Lake City Council passed the Elevate Buildings Ordinance, also known as the Energy Benchmarking & Transparency Ordinance. This market-based ordinance phases in new requirements for buildings over 25,000 square feet to measure their energy usage annually.
Projections indicate the Elevate Buildings program could save local building owners $15.8 million in annual energy costs. Additionally, the ordinance is expected to eliminate more than 29 tons of criteria pollutants from the Salt Lake City air each year.
Solar Energy Expansion
The City has made significant investments in renewable energy and solar capacity. In 2024, the City and its partners achieved the commercial operation of the Elektron Solar Project, an 80 MW solar farm designed to support municipal clean energy goals. This follows a 2016 commitment where the City secured a 3 MW purchase through Rocky Mountain Power's Subscriber Solar program.
Other solar initiatives include the installation of 488 kilowatts of solar capacity on City buildings and the construction of a one-megawatt solar farm on a historical landfill. As of 2018, solar energy was supplying 14% of the City's municipal needs.
Clean Transportation Initiatives
Salt Lake City is also focusing on reducing vehicle emissions through fleet management and transit options. As of January 2024, the City's fleet included 404 alternative-fueled vehicles, 54 of which are all-electric. The Salt Lake City Airport operates an additional 270 alternative-fueled vehicles, including 68 fully-electric models.
The Waste & Recycling Division utilizes a low-emission fleet consisting of 30 compressed natural gas (CNG) refuse packers and 7 clean diesel refuse packers. To support the community-wide transition to cleaner vehicles, the City is installing public electric vehicle charging stations, with 20 Level 2 public stations currently available, each featuring two ports.
Transit and Infrastructure
Infrastructure improvements and transit accessibility also play a role in the City's sustainability goals. The City's Division of Transportation has installed more than 291 miles of bicycle lanes to reduce vehicle miles traveled. Additionally, the City offers the Hive Pass, a lower-cost public transit program for residents, which has been expanded to include all Salt Lake City School District students, staff, and one parent or guardian per student.
Construction and Building Standards
The City has set high standards for new construction and building renovations. In 2006, Salt Lake City committed to aiming for at least LEED Silver standards for all new City buildings and major renovations. However, the 2017 Comprehensive Sustainability Policy raised this requirement, specifying that all City-funded new construction must be designed and built to meet LEED Gold standards.
Furthermore, a 2013 Executive Order requires that all new construction or major renovations of occupied City buildings exceeding 10,000 square feet must be evaluated for net-zero energy emissions potential. If practicable, these buildings are to be designed to meet this efficiency level using onsite or offsite renewable energy to offset anticipated annual CO2 emissions.
Ongoing Resource Management
Ongoing efforts include the continuous upgrading of existing structures. Since 2001, the City has been upgrading lighting and building systems in the City-County Building, which has reduced that building's electricity use by over 840,000 kWh per year. The City has also upgraded insulation on the steam pipe network serving the City County Building, the Main Library, and the Leonardo Science Center to reduce heat loss and natural gas consumption. Additionally, the Salt Lake City Department of Public Utilities' co-gen facility produces nearly 6 million kilowatt hours of electricity annually, reducing City greenhouse gas emissions by 4,300 tons per year.
