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Solar Jobs Soar — In Utah Too.

Judy Fahys
Vivint installed solar panels on the events arena in downtown Salt Lake City, not long after the growing company relocated its headquarters to Utah.

Solar-power is booming, creating jobs nationwide, and Utah’s part of the trend.

Last month the Solar Foundation announced another year of robust growth.

“As of 2016, more than 260,000 Americans are working full-time in the solar industry,” says the group’s leader, Andrea Luecke, in a promotional spot. “That’s more than the number of people who work at Amazon, Apple, Facebook and Google combined.”

The number of rooftop solar panels in Utah has roughly doubled year-to-year. And energy from solar farms is booming, too. 

“You don’t see that sort of growth in very many different industries” says Kate Bowman, who follows solar for the nonprofit Utah Clean Energy.

“We’re seeing more solar in the state and more jobs installing solar,” she adds, “but then [also] from companies who want to bring their solar here and actually locate them in Utah because they see the promise of a good market into the future.”

In Utah last year, the foundation counted 4,408 solar-industry jobs. Over 1,700 of those were new. The Provo-Orem area even landed on the top-25 list nationally.

But there are clouds on the future. One is the gradual end to a state tax credit. Another is a rooftop solar rate change proposed by Rocky Mountain Power.

“It’s created a lot of volatility in the market,” Bowman says, “and it’s really hard as a solar customer right now or a potential solar customer to decide whether it’s a smart investment for you.”

She points out that the power company, solar companies and other stakeholders are working on a fair resolution on rates. The case heads to the Utah Public Service Commission this summer. 

Judy Fahys has reported in Utah for two decades, covering politics, government and business before taking on environmental issues. She loves covering Utah, where petroleum-pipeline spills, the nation’s radioactive legacy and other types of pollution provide endless fodder for stories. Previously, she worked for the Salt Lake Tribune in Utah, and reported on the nation’s capital for States News Service and the Scripps League newspaper chain. She is a longtime member of the Society of Environmental Journalists and Investigative Reporters and Editors. She also spent an academic year as a research fellow in the Knight Science Journalism program at the Massachusetts Institute of Technology. In her spare time, she enjoys being out in the environment, especially hiking, gardening and watercolor painting.
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