Summit County officials report progress on renewable energy goals, present new countywide emissions inventory

County sustainability staff updated the Summit County Council Oct. 8 on progress toward goals in Council Resolution 2019‑29 and presented a new 2024 countywide greenhouse‑gas inventory.

For government operations, staff reported an estimated 68% of electricity used in 2024 came from renewable sources and said they expect to approach roughly 90% in 2025 as projects such as Electron come online and as the county integrates new building loads (for example, the recently acquired Skullcandy building). Staff emphasized that rooftop solar and facility‑level solar installations lower facility purchases, which are then supplemented with larger utility‑scale resources.

On community‑wide emissions, the county contracted a consultant (Bridal Group) to compile the 2024 inventory. Staff said the inventory used a new methodology for on‑road transportation emissions (Google Insights Explorer), which likely yields a more accurate but lower transportation estimate than prior approaches; because transportation is a large portion of overall emissions, methodological changes affect totals. The 2024 countywide total reported was approximately 1,260,000 metric tons of CO2e; transportation and buildings were the largest community emissions sources, while solid waste remains the largest source for county operations. Staff said government operations for 2024 were about 22,599 metric tons CO2e — roughly a 10% decrease from 2023 and less than 1% above a 2016 baseline.

Staff acknowledged measuring greenhouse gases is complex and requires annual inventories and methodological consistency; they said they have not completed the biannual emissions/renewable plans called for in the 2019 resolution but have refreshed internal metrics and modeling. Staff recommended the council consider asking them to return with a draft updated resolution to reaffirm goals and include additional emphases such as land‑management, waste and heat‑related health risks. Councilmembers broadly supported returning with a draft updated resolution and asked staff to consider additions that would reflect local land management, water and waste priorities and to coordinate language with other county departments and stakeholders.

What happens next: Staff said they will return with a more detailed update on the Utah Renewable Communities program at the Nov. 19 meeting and will prepare a draft updated county resolution for council consideration on future timelines.