PRESS RELEASE
May 8, 2008

Contact: David Newell, Research Analyst, Utah Foundation
(801) 355-1400, ext. 6

UTAH’S ENERGY USE AND RESOURCES: POWERING OUR STANDARD OF LIVING

Utah Foundation today released a research report examining Utah’s energy use, energy resources, and what Utahns can expect as far as energy prices and supplies in the future. The report, entitled "Utah's Energy Use and Resources: Powering Our Standard of Living," is attached to this release and is also available at www.utahfoundation.org. An executive summary is attached and available on the website.

This report was written in response to the findings of the Utah Priorities Survey, which was conducted in January 2008, and which ranked energy, including gas prices, as the number one issue of concern for Utahns, even trumping Utah’s perennial favorite issue, education.

The following are the major findings from the report:

• The main energy sources consumed in Utah are coal, natural gas, petroleum, and hydro electricity. Coal is Utah’s most-consumed energy source and is Utah’s primary source of electricity; natural gas is the state’s primary heating fuel.
• 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.

In regards to Utah’s energy situation, Utah Foundation Research Analyst David Newell said, "The good news is that Utahns generally enjoy large quantities of cheap energy, relative to the rest of the country. The bad news is that it won’t last forever. Utah, which depends heavily on fossil fuels, such as coal, oil, and natural gas, will need to start looking into other energy sources that are viable in the long run, such as nuclear and renewable energy, in order to maintain the standard of living Utahns have come to expect."

The report is freely available to the public on the web at www.utahfoundation.org.

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The mission of Utah Foundation is to promote a thriving economy, a well-prepared workforce, and a high quality of life for Utahns by performing thorough, well-supported research that helps policymakers, business and community leaders, and citizens better understand complex issues and providing practical, well-reasoned recommendations for policy change.