The Green River Energy Center, Utah's largest solar and battery storage facility, officially began operations in Emery County on Monday, June 22, following nearly a decade of planning and two years of construction. The $1.1 billion project, led by Salt Lake City-based rPlus Energies, adds significant generation capacity to the energy-producing region north of Moore.
Facility scale and technical capabilities
The massive facility spans approximately 2,500 to 3,200 acres of privately owned land and features nearly one million solar panels alongside a 400-megawatt battery energy storage system. The system is capable of storing up to 1,600 megawatt-hours of electricity, allowing power generated during the day to be delivered to the grid when demand peaks.
Governor Cox on energy initiatives
During a commissioning ceremony held Monday, Governor Spencer Cox identified the center as the first major project contributing to 'Operation Gigawatt,' his statewide initiative aimed at more than doubling Utah's electricity production over the next decade. Cox emphasized that the project represents an approach of energy addition rather than subtraction or replacement.
Regulatory hurdles for large projects
Governor Cox criticized the lengthy regulatory process required to bring the project to fruition, noting that the nearly eight years spent securing permissions and approvals 'never should have happened.' He described the difficulty of obtaining permits for large-scale energy projects as a significant barrier to development.
The debate over energy types
'We all win when projects like enough happen, but for a long time in this country we forgot how to build the big stuff,' Cox said. He further characterized debates regarding whether solar should replace other energy forms as 'the worst and dumbest debate we could possibly have,' stating that while solar is not needed everywhere, it is necessary in the right locations.
Strategic importance of Emery County
rPlus Energies CEO Luigi Resta noted that Emery County's existing transmission infrastructure and its long history of energy production made it a natural site for the center. He described the project as part of an 'all-of-the-above' strategy that complements the region's traditional energy resources.
Emery County Commissioner Dennis Worwood remarked that the facility continues a 50-year tradition of exporting energy via local power lines. While the county has historically exported coal, Worwood said the community is now prepared to 'export some of our sunshine over these same power lines.'
The project's economic impact includes an expected $4.35 million increase in property tax revenue for Emery County in its first year, with projections reaching between $55 million and $55.2 million over the next 20 years. Commissioner Worwood noted that this influx of revenue is already providing local governments more flexibility, including investments in emergency services and reductions in property taxes for the Emery County School District.
However, Emery County Commission Vice Chair Jordan Leonard cautioned that officials must plan for the eventual depreciation of the facility's taxable value to avoid overspending funds as the plant ages.
Local landowners also expressed support for the project's use of land. Ranch owner Glendon 'Woody' Johnson stated that the 2,300-acre lease provides a dependable income source for land that had limited agricultural utility due to a lack of irrigation water. Johnson noted that the arrangement allows the ranch's most productive acreage to remain in active agricultural production.
Construction of the facility utilized regional labor and materials, including contractors such as TSJ Construction, Bodec Electric, and BHI. The project's infrastructure included approximately 996,000 solar panels, 484 battery units (identified by some reports as Tesla Megapacks), 385 miles of underground cable, and over 133,000 steel piles.
Beyond infrastructure, rPlus Energies and its partners have established the Local First and Energy First scholarships at Utah State University-Eastern. These $5,000 annual scholarships are available to students residing in Carbon or Emery Counties, with the Energy First program specifically targeting fields such as welding, environmental studies, and diesel mechanics.
Regarding the long-term lifecycle of the facility, officials noted that the recycling and reclamation of solar panels will be managed through SOLARCYCLE, a company that extracts valuable materials from decommissioned panels to manufacture new ones.
