AES’ Clover Creek solar facility is a testament to the strength of public-private collaboration and a shared commitment to responsible, innovative, and community-centered development. Delivering clean energy to 6 cities via a Power Purchase Agreement (PPA) with the Utah Municipal Power Association, this 80 MW solar facility supports the advancement of Utah’s renewable energy goals, while providing direct economic and environmental benefits to the Juab County, Utah local community. Throughout the development of this project, our project teams consistently demonstrated our core values, prioritizing safety, maintaining the highest standards, and working all together every step of the way.
Background & Context
Market Landscape: Trends or challenges that set the stage.
Every clean energy facility lives a long life well before it reaches commercial operation, requiring extensive diligence, strategic site selection, and strong relationship building. As the energy industry continues to shift and evolve, clean energy developers must be prepared to navigate challenges such as regulatory shifts, infrastructure demands, and varying stakeholder perspectives, while building and maintaining long-term partnerships with local communities to advance sustainable and reliable energy solutions.
Initial Business Priorities: State the core focus areas at the start of the case.
AES’ Clover Creek solar project is no different, and developing responsible, reliable, renewable energy projects begins with strong community relationships, strategic and thoughtful site selection, and clear alignment and diligence surrounding environmental and sustainable development best practices.
The 80 MW solar facility is located just 1.5 miles west of Mona, Utah in Juab County. After years of siting, development, and construction, the facility reached commercial operation in November 2021 and has been directly supporting the advancement of clean energy onto Utah’s electric grid ever since.
The facility generates enough clean energy to reduce an equivalent of 140,564 metric tons of carbon dioxide per year and to power the equivalent of more than 25,000 Utah homes and provides reliable and clean energy through the PPA to the six central cities that make up the Utah Municipal Power Association (UMPA): Provo, Spanish Fork, Salem, Manti, Nephi, and Levan. This is one of UMPA’s first renewable energy power purchase agreements and is a major milestone in bringing the benefits of clean energy directly to Utah municipalities.
Challenges & Opportunities
Key Challenges: What problems or gaps were identified?
Opportunities: What potential growth, savings, or innovation areas emerged? Include data points.
From the beginning of every project, building trust with local stakeholders, community members, and potential landowners is vital for the long-term success of the project. AES’ stakeholder relations team members worked hard to invest significant time and energy building relationships with county officials, city leaders, school boards, local business-owners, and neighbors of the project directly in person. Understanding community concerns and collaborating on a clear, comfortable path forward was essential to establishing a partnership, a smooth development process and ultimately successful operations.
Building these strong relationships early-on, eventually supported the need to balance innovation with community expectations. Local community members and project landowners were strong advocates for dual-use and local STEM education partnerships, and initiatives like these require careful planning, and unique development strategies.
Simultaneously in the early phases of the project, complex regulatory and permitting landscapes demanded extensive collaboration by members of our permitting team with local and state agencies that ultimately extended the timeline to reach commercial operation.
One of the most significant hurdles to the project was collaborating with local county and city officials to determine the most equitable tax distribution process and ensure that the project directly benefited the community's needs. The project would not have reached operational status if not for the close collaboration and relationship fostering between AES team members and local leadership with the County Officials, City Officials, and School District Boards. To solve this, AES formed a Community Reinvestment Area (CRA) which adds greater community benefits by allowing local taxing entities, specifically the Juab School District and Juab County, to benefit from real and personal property growth generated within the project area to support and finance redevelopment activities.
Strategic Priorities & Approach
Priority: Description, rationale, and expected impact.
Community Reinvestment Area (CRA) Formation:
AES worked with local officials and taxing entities in Juab County and the Juab County School District to establish a CRA to receive long-term tax revenue throughout the life of the project.
This strategy-built trust and long-term support from local stakeholders by providing a transparent, clear, link from the project to community reinvestment.
Over the life of the project, Juab County, the Juab County School District and other taxing entities will see a large increase in tax revenue based on real and personal property taxes. $5.7 million in property taxes will be created over the life of the project, allocating $3.6 million to Juab schools, $1.4 million to Juab County and other taxing entities. Additionally, from the CRA, $788,000 will be allocated to low-income housing.
Dual-Use Land Management:
Clover Creek is home to over 500 sheep who happily graze in, around, and under the panels – keeping the site looking beautiful without the use of additional carbon from traditional lawn-care machinery.
This innovative project design results in compounded carbon emissions reductions from traditional landscaping equipment and further supports local agricultural business.
This project allowed Juab native, Seth McPherson, a farmer who works with a local sheepherder to manage the Clover Creek herd, to switch roles and work closer to his home and family.
Stem Education Investment:
AES partnered with Discovery Education and the STEM Careers Coalition to provide high-quality STEM resources to Juab High School students
workforce development in a people-positive way. At the kindergarten through 12th grade level, AES supports students through curriculum development partnerships, educational tours of our sites, and capacity building workshops for science, technology, engineering, and mathematics (STEM) educators.
Together with the STEM Careers Coalition – an alliance of industry and non-profit organizations powered by Discovery Education – AES has invested over $1 million since 2020 to improve access to high-quality K-12 STEM education across the United States, including the state of Utah. In 2024, the Coalition surpassed our goal reaching over 10.7 million students due to the collective contributions of all members. In the state of Utah, our direct investment benefited Juab School District by providing access to Discovery Education Experience for teachers and students in grades 9 - 12 at Juab High School from 2021 through the spring 2024 semester. Based on information from the National Center for Education Statistics, more than 850 students attended Juab High School in the 2023-2024 school year and had access to these educational resources through AES partnership.
Actions Taken
Outline the major initiatives, programs, or changes implemented. Mention stakeholders involved and tools, technologies, or partnerships leveraged.
Results & Impact
List quantitative results (KPIs, ROI, revenue impact, cost savings, market share growth) and qualitative results (employee engagement, customer satisfaction, brand reputation). Include before-and-after comparison if possible.
The successful development and operation of the project significantly enhanced AES’ brand reputation across Juab County, its municipalities, and the state of Utah as a whole. By working closely with county and city officials to align and deliver community benefits, AES demonstrated its commitment to responsible, community-centered development. This approach resonated strongly in Utah, our business unit headquarters, reinforcing AES as a trusted partner in clean energy and community investment.
Lessons Learned
Summarize key insights gained from execution, adjustments made along the way, and how these lessons shape future priorities.
AES’ Clover Creek solar project demonstrates the crucial role that early and active community collaboration plays from day one of renewable energy development. These projects exist well beyond their commercial operation date and understanding community needs, both economic and social, and will support the public-private collaboration necessary to deliver clean power. All the different strategies and initiatives AES implemented throughout this project, such as the CRA, prioritizing and local labor, and integrating dual-use land strategies were born out of transparent, clear, and consistent collaboration with local community members. Challenges arise in every type of economic development effort, but having a strong foundation for communication, and a willingness to pivot or compromise on development plans and timelines allowed AES, Juab County, and UMPA, to build a successful, resourceful, and impactful solar facility.
Future Outlook
Outline the next steps in the strategic plan, how business priorities will evolve, and opportunities for scaling or replication.
As we continue to build and develop projects across the country, it is our priority to develop safe, responsible, clean energy projects that continue to put the communities in which we develop first. Industry regulations, policies, technologies, and more will continue to evolve and change, but our core values will remain the same as we continue to advance grid reliability.
Key Quotes & Testimonials (Optional, but nice to have)
Include leadership statements tying results to corporate vision and partner/customer quotes validating impact.
“The Clover Creek Solar Project offers Utah Municipal Power Agency (UMPA) the first big step into the renewable solar and clean energy resources located in the middle of the State. This new green power supply at a low price replaces a fossil-fuel contract and starts us on an economic path of meeting our renewable energy and carbon reduction goals without rate impacts. UMPA and Nephi City values the long-term partnership with AES in supplying clean, renewable power to our communities, businesses, and homes for the future. We thank AES for making this happen” - Glade Nielson, Nephi Mayor and UMPA Board Director
Photos and videos related to the topic of the case study
Include links to media or libraries with files related to the case study. Please make sure the photos and videos you intend to be used are clearly labeled.
Morning safety moment
Panels in sunlight
Panels with mountains
Group tour