The 80 MW Elektron Solar Project has reached commercial operations after five years of work. Salt Lake City Mayor Erin Mendenhall, Salt Lake City Council Member Dan Dugan, Rocky Mountain Power President Dick Garlish, Park City Mayor Nann Worel, and developer D.E. Shaw Renewable Energy Investments participated in a ribbon-cutting ceremony for the project on June 24, 2024.
As of April 25, 2024, the solar farm began providing renewable electricity to the grid. The project serves multiple customers including Summit County, Utah Valley University, Park City Mountain Resort, and Deer Valley Resort.
Salt Lake City is the largest electricity consumer among the six participating customers. The city has committed to purchasing approximately half of the energy produced by the solar farm, which represents about 80% of the city's annual electricity usage for municipal operations.
This initiative supports the City's Climate Positive 2040 roadmap, which established goals in 2016 to reduce carbon emissions. These goals include reaching net-50% renewable electricity for municipal operations by 2020 and net-100% by 2030.
The project faced several delays that prevented it from coming online by its original expected window of late 2022 or early 2023. Three primary challenges impacted the timeline.
In June 2021, US Customs and Border Protection issued a Withhold Release Order on silicon-based products from a large Chinese company, which impacted the delivery of LON
Gi panels intended for the project. Additionally, a U.S. Commerce Department investigation into whether solar panels from Southeast Asian countries were illegally avoiding tariffs caused further production halts.
Finally, the implementation of the Uyghur Forced Labor Prevention Act in June 2022 created new requirements for supply chain tracing, which disrupted shipments from major manufacturers.
Despite these obstacles, the project partners successfully navigated the regulatory and supply chain hurdles to complete construction. Salt Lake City Sustainability Director Debbie Lyons stated that the success of the project demonstrates what can be achieved when inspiring goals are set and partners work together.
