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Utah Pursues Alternative Energy Projects |
The State of Utah School and Institutional Trust Lands Administration is currently working on several alternative energy projects:
Geothermal - Raser Technologies of Provo, Utah has developed a proprietary "binary" power plant that allows electricity to be produced using much lower temperature geothermal resources. Raser has completed a binary geothermal power plant on trust lands at Thermo Hot Springs near Milford, Utah. They have contracted with Anaheim, California to provide the city with 10 megawatts of power from the plant. In addition to the 640-acre thermo site, Raser and its affiliates have leased more than 121,000 acres of trust lands with geothermal potential spread widely over much of western Utah.
Oil Shale - New technologies have emerged for the extraction of oil from oil shale. Red Leaf Resources of Salt Lake City is pioneering the EcoShale In-Capsule Process which promises to economically release the kerogen oil from the oil shale in an environmentally sustainable process. According to the company's Web site, no processed water is used, no aquifers are disturbed, and process residue in the form of extracted shale ore is contained in a bentonite clay capsule to avoid water intrusion or leaching.
Solar - The Trust Lands Administration is holding ongoing discussions with several potential clients for the use of trust lands in generating solar energy. |
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Analyzing State Trust Land Exchanges |
| The Lincoln Institute of Land Policy - Sonoran Institute Joint Venture has recently completed a "working paper" outlining the history of land exchanges involving state trust lands in the West, as well as some best practices to guide state trust land managers in crafting and implementing successful land exchanges. These land tenure adjustment strategies are important to resolving problematic land patterns, such as the checkerboard of state-federal and state-private lands found throughout so much of the West, as well as gaining lands that will generate revenues for the beneficiaries while passing ecologically sensitive lands into federal ownership to be managed for their conservation values.
The working paper is currently in the review process, and will be under consideration by the Lincoln Institute of Land Policy for publication. If you would like to be a part of the peer review process in evaluating and commenting on this research product, please contact Susan Culp at sculp@sonoraninstitute.org. |
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PHOTO CREDITS: Utah Alternative Energy Photos Courtesy of Raser Technologies, Provo, Utah, Maria Baier Photo Courtesy of Arizona State Land Department.
NEWS FROM THE FIELD: If your office has trust land management information and tools in asset management, collaborative planning, real estate development, and/or conservation use which you would like to share, please send us an email. Attach a news release, documents and photos.
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