Jim Anderson, a Salt Lake City resident, urged the Utah Lake Authority to consider a large-scale floating solar array on Utah Lake and introduced a concept to pair it with floating wetlands to reduce nutrient pollution.

Anderson said the floating solar approach — which he described as already used at scale in places such as China and Singapore — could “save about 4 to 5 acre-feet for every acre that you cover,” and could help supply renewable electricity timed to local cooling and data-center demand. He suggested combining renewables with existing baseload resources for year-round supply.

Joining by Zoom, Neil Spagman of Highland described a nature-based approach to absorbing nitrogen and phosphorus from agricultural runoff by installing floating wetlands that could be harvested for biomass (flowers, herbs or other crops). "We're never gonna get farmers to stop fertilizing," Spagman said, "but what we can do is absorb that nitrogen and phosphorus in the ag runoff through a system of floating wetlands." He said the approach allows targeted placement at point or nonpoint sources and recommended a prototype deployment and testing period so the community can see results.

Both speakers requested placement on a future agenda to present additional research and pilot proposals. The board did not take action on the proposal at this meeting; the comments were recorded during the public comment period.