Utah's Energy Use and Resources: Powering Our Standard of Living

How much energy do Utahns consume? How has consumption changed over time? Where does Utah's energy come from? What can Utahns expect for energy prices and supplies in the future? The Utah Priorities Survey ranked energy, including gas prices, as the number one issue of concern for Utahns this year. This report provides data and graphs to illustrate Utah's current energy situation and trends, and makes these findings:

• Abundant in-state energy resources have contributed to a low-cost, high standard of living for Utahns. In the short term, Utah prices will likely continue to be competitive compared to the rest of the country.
• In the long term, while energy prices in Utah will likely continue to rise, due to increasing domestic and global demand, prices will probably remain competitive relative to the rest of the country.
• The availability of Utah’s oil, coal, and natural gas is limited; 50-100 years from now, fossil fuels will start to run out. This could either result in serious consequences for those societies built predominantly on fossil fuels, or in the innovation of new methods for powering the high standard of living that Utahns enjoy.
• Renewable and nuclear energies are currently the only known sources of energy that are not subject to the same diminishing supplies as fossil fuels. While in the short run they will be more expensive and less efficient to adopt, they remain a consistently viable source of energy into the distant future.