Earlier today, the Healthy Environment Alliance of Utah (HEAL Utah) released a study saying that the majority of the entire state’s energy needs could be met with renewable energy by the middle of this century.

Given the state’s rich mineral resources, it may sound surprising that Utah could be the first state to almost completely ween itself from conventional energy sources. But if you’ve been following the state’s recent clean energy developments, the report’s findings aren’t entirely out of the blue. Last year, for instance, Utah was part of a six-state plan to develop solar power plants on public federal lands. And at the end of the day, it’s Utah, not solar power leaders California or New Jersey, that will soon host the nation’s largest rooftop photovoltaic (PV) system.

Officially titled, “Utah: A Renewable Energy Roadmap,” the plan notes that, from an environmental standpoint, nuclear energy is riskier than renewable energy or natural gas. It also suggests that PacifiCorp, which supplies Utah with roughly 80 percent of its electricity needs, is making good progress on developing renewable energy capacity. For example, the utility company has been heavily pursuing compressed air energy storage — a way to store solar or wind-generated energy so that it can be used at another time. PacifiCorp is also exploring renewable energy plants that harness the energy of both wind and the sun.

Perhaps the report’s most interesting findings is that large-scale use of renewable energy could help Utah save between 15 billion and 20 billion gallons of water when compared to how much water is needed to continue to use coal-based energy. So Utahns, help your state reach its energy independence, water-saving goal by installing a solar energy system today.