By Jeremiah Stettler

The Salt Lake Tribune
Updated: 05/21/2009 07:57:58 PM MDT

Salt Lake County has millions of dollars to spend, thanks to a federal stimulus package that could pump $2.3 million into Utah's most-populous county for energy efficiency and conservation. The question is: Where to spend it?

Swap out street lights with low-energy LEDs? Hire a consultant to keep tabs on the county's carbon footprint? Extend urban trails to provide an easier commute for bicyclists? Transform government rooftops into miniature power plants with an expansive solar array?

County leaders are mulling those ideas, and more, as they contemplate ways to cash in on the environmental side of the federal stimulus with projects that will add jobs and reduce the county's reliance on fossil fuels. Statewide, the stimulus will provide $27.8 million for "green" initiatives.

While Salt Lake County hasn't decided how to spend its share of the grant money, officials are weighing a wish list of projects that could include commercial-building incentives, energy audits for government buildings and loan programs for retrofitting homes.

It's a list that emerged, in part, from a brainstorming session this week with constituents and energy-conservation advocates. Among them was Randy Tolbert, owner of the Mount Pleasant-based Access Solar, who argued the federal government could reap considerable energy savings by investing in his line of work: Installing solar heat systems for swimming pools. Unfortunately, federal rules don't allow it.
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Other suggestions included synchronizing traffic signals and focusing more attention on enforcing energy codes.

The federal funds probably won't go far, maybe providing enough money to start up four or five projects. But the county's stimulus coordinator, Ann Ober, believes the emphasis on energy conservation could have a longer-term effect on the state's environmental outlook.

"This isn't just about projects that you put in the ground," Ober said. "It's about the mindset for how you do business."

Kevin Emerson, who oversees energy efficiency programs for Utah Clean Energy, hopes the stimulus is the seed of bigger things to come. If the dollars were his to spend, he would offer financial incentives for retrofitting homes. And with luck, it would "kick start a larger scale retrofit program" across the state.

The county must decide by late June how to spend the money.

jstettler@sltrib.com