Major solar farm project underway, set to benefit Salt Lake City and more

Solar panels are seen at a Green Mountain Power site on, Friday, Nov. 5, 2010, in Berlin, Vt. Green Mountain Power is getting electricity from three new solar power…

Solar panels are seen at a Green Mountain Power site on, Friday, Nov. 5, 2010, in Berlin, Vt. Green Mountain Power is getting electricity from three new solar power projects that are now online in Vermont. Vermont’s second largest electric utility says the new projects bring its solar installations to five and it is exceeding its goal of installing and helping its customers install 10,000 solar panels in 1,000 days. CEO Mary Powell says GMP now has about 14,000 solar panels in use. (AP Photo/Toby Talbot)

by: Addy Bink

Posted: Oct 19, 2021 / 09:02 PM MDT

Updated: Oct 19, 2021 / 09:02 PM MDT

TOOELE COUNTY, Utah (ABC4) – Numerous local leaders, including Salt Lake City Mayor Erin Mendenhall, attended a groundbreaking for a large solar farm in Tooele County.

Construction is now underway on an 80 Megawatt solar farm, the Elektron Solar project, in Salt Lake County’s neighboring county. Once completed, the project will provide renewable energy to six large customers, including Utah’s capital city.

In addition to Salt Lake City, other customers of the project include Summit County, Park City, Utah Valley University, and two ski resorts – Deer Valley Resort and Park City Mountain Resort.

The Tooele County solar project will be among the largest solar generators connected to Rocky Mountain Power’s Utah grid when it is done. Salt Lake City Corporation expects to source the majority of its annual municipal electricity from the project.

Mayor Mendenhall and other local leaders toured the project on Tuesday. The Elektron Solar project is owned and will be constructed by DESRI, building on a successful collaboration between DESRI and Enyo Renewable Energy (ERE), a Utah-based renewable energy developer that is now responsible for more than 275 MWac of new customer-driven solar capacity being constructed in 2021 and 2022 in northern Utah.