Green Business awards: celebrating Utah's greenest companies, products and people.

• Author: Stewart, Heather

First Wind

With its Milford Wind Project, the largest renewable energy project in the state, First Wind has impacted the state's environment, its economy and the small communities near the wind farm.

The Milford Wind Project has been in commercial operation for nearly a year. It features 97 wind turbines and boasts the capacity to generate enough clean, renewable energy to power approximately 44,000 Utah homes each year. To create that much energy through traditional methods would produce 214,000 tons of carbon dioxide--or the equivalent of more than 37,000 automobiles, according to EPA estimates. Additionally, the clean energy produced by the Milford Wind Project is equivalent to the energy obtained by burning 940,000 barrels of oil, but without the associated pollution.

And, in water-starved Utah, the wind project has the added benefit of not using any water during energy production, unlike other conventional forms of power generation.

Due to its size and scope, the Milford Wind Project earned the "Reader's Choice" award from the readers of RenewableEnergyWorld.com.

During the development of the project, First Wind worked closely with residents of Milford and of Beaver and Millard counties to ensure the environmental and economic benefits of the project would not bypass the local communities. The company spent nearly $85 million with more than 60 Utah businesses during the construction and development of the wind farm.

The company considers itself a member of the Milford community. It has provided two $3,000 scholarships to local students. First Wind also helped pay for enhancements to the Milford recreation complex, and supported the Daughters of the Utah Pioneers in that organization's efforts to restore the historic Beaver County Courthouse.

First Wind has demonstrated that renewable energy is practical and profitable, hopefully ushering in a new interest in the development of renewable energy sources in the state.

Sarah Wright Utah Clean Energy

Sarah Wright is a living example of how one person can make an enormous difference in the world. As a long-time environmental and occupational safety and health consultant to Utah businesses, Wright had a strong passion for sustainable solutions and practices. She left her consulting career in 2001 to found Utah Clean Energy, an organization that promotes the adoption of green energy solutions in Utah.

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Wright's approach is to foster collaborations between business leaders, policymakers and state residents. Her efforts encompass policy, regulatory and educational initiatives. For example, one recent success was a utility decoupling pilot program, which became permanent this year. This made possible the Therm Wise program, which provides incentives for state residents and businesses to reduce their energy consumption. Wright advocated for this program during regulatory proceedings and provided critical information about the cost-effectiveness and environmental benefits of energy efficiency programs.

Wright has also promoted efforts to diversify Utah's energy portfolio with additional wind, solar and geothermal energy sources--which are both home-grown and renewable. She has worked closely with state policymakers in support of smart energy policies that expand renewable technologies in Utah. Through passage of provisions for renewable energy financing, local governments, churches and some nonprofits can access tax incentives and innovative financing for renewable energy. As a result, the number of installed solar panels in Utah is expected to more than double this year.

Another success for Utah Clean Energy was the passage of Utah's net metering law, which allows residents who own renewable energy systems to earn credit for any excess energy they produce and return to the grid. Other efforts of the organization include pushing for training opportunities in the state colleges and universities for green careers, and helping Salt Lake City become one of the first Solar America Cities through an initiative of the U.S. Department of Energy.

Through Utah Clean Energy, a nonprofit, nonpartisan organization, Wright has made tremendous progress in getting Utah residents and businesses to support and adopt renewable energy--bringing the state that much closer to realizing a sustainable energy economy.

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Michael Jeppesen Innovation Property Group

Michael Jeppesen has been on the forefront of the green building movement in Utah since at least 1996, when he was the development consultant on five building projects that incorporated several green and energy-efficient strategies. More recently, he was the first commercial real estate agent and developer in Utah to obtain the LEED Accredited Professional (AP) designation.

Jeppesen is the president of Innovision Property Group, which specializes in commercial property sales and leasing, as well as Green Earth Development, a commercial real estate development company. Through these two companies, he works to educate stakeholders in the real estate industry about how to make buildings more efficient and economical to maintain.

For the past several years, Jeppesen and the Innovision staff have presented to trade groups, corporations and colleagues about strategies for green building and environmental sustainability. He has been a panelist and speaker at multiple Salt Lake Sustainable Building conferences, and he is a state of Utah licensed continuing education provider for energy efficiency and green building principles.

"I figured that until people could experience for themselves the cost savings and the feel-good nature of doing it, being sustainable would not catch on," says Jeppesen. "I figured that if I could tie sustainability to good business practice, it would spread faster, and I could support my family and coworkers in a way that aligned with how I want to live."

Jeppesen is also involved in several environmental organizations. He is a sponsor of the Sugarhouse Farmers Market and contributes to a list of other environmental groups. His company is a member of Salt Lake City's e2 Business program, and it is also an EPA Energy Star partner. Furthermore, Jeppesen serves as the program chair for the U. S. Green Building Council Utah Chapter.

"Being green can feel like such an overwhelming hurdle to jump over for most people, that breaking it down to simple measures that one person can do on their own with no out-of-pocket costs helps people get started on the path" he says.

Mayor Ralph Becker Salt Lake City

Sometimes it takes a leader with vision to inspire impactful, systemic change. Mayor Ralph Becker is hoping to create that kind of change in Salt Lake City, and he is certainly thinking big. Under his leadership, Salt Lake City announced a goal and a plan to make the city the most sustainable city in the nation.

Becker put together a sustainability team to help make this goal a reality. Organized through the Division of Sustainability and Environment, Salt Lake City Green promotes award-winning environmental programs that help conserve resources and reduce pollution. For instance, the city has enhanced its recycling program with additional glass drop-off sites, new yard waste containers and collection vehicles that run on compressed natural gas.

Other programs of Salt Lake City Green focus on air quality, water conservation, transportation, community health, open space and housing.

To reduce its energy use, the city has committed to use renewable energy for 10 percent of new building energy use and to reduce the carbon footprint of new construction by 50 percent. Not only has the city adopted high-performance building codes for its own new buildings, it is promoting development of such high-performance buildings in the community with code revisions, permitting incentives and loans to businesses.

Becker has also involved the business community through a green business registration program, e2 Business, which was created by leveraging federal stimulus grants. The e2 Business program recognizes and supports the environmental and economic sustainability efforts of the business community through a stringent certification program.

Becker has called for a review of city ordinances to weed out outdated ordinances that are barriers to progress. Some such ordinances include limiting solar roof panels, community gardening and low-water-use landscaping. The...