By Xoel Cardenas, Sr. Communications Specialist, Office of the Vice President for Research

Utah is no stranger to big challenges or bold solutions. One challenge that requires bold solutions is energy. With a rising demand in energy, artificial intelligence transforming industries, and global competition growing, how Utah responds to these challenges will determine its energy sustainability today and beyond.

Utah Energy Week, held at the University of Utah campus, brought together leaders from government, industry, research, venture capital, and nonprofit organizations to take on one of the state’s most pressing challenges: building a resilient energy future.

From policymakers and researchers to industry innovators and community partners, Utah Energy Week created a forum for collaboration and dialogue. Designed to spark ideas, share insights, and strengthen connections, the event underscored the importance of working together to ensure Utah’s energy systems remain reliable, sustainable, and adaptable for decades to come.

What made Utah Energy Week so exciting and important? Dr. Marian Rice, Director of the National Laboratory & Security Office, said it was the larger local and regional energy community coming together, along with policymakers and innovators, to discuss Utah and the region’s energy present and future.

“We had so many stakeholders with different focus areas in energy, different lenses all coming together to have this larger conversation about energy in Utah and about economic development in Utah, workforce development, our community,” said Rice, who led in the planning of the event. “I think also just the fact that there was such excitement from everybody. We're so excited to have an event like this where we can all talk and network and share ideas. Everybody came out of this with some action moving forward that will benefit Utah, benefit our translational research efforts, benefit our Utah communities.”

Some of the highlights from Utah Energy Week included a morning panel discussion on leading energy innovation in the West. Panelists included Utah Gov. Spencer Cox; U of U Vice President for Research Erin Rothwell; Dr. Lisa M. Berreau, Vice President for Research at Utah State University; and Dr. John Wagner, Laboratory Director at the Idaho National Laboratory.

“We have to set a vision for the future. And our vision is that we know we have to double our energy capacity here in Utah over the next few years just to be able to keep up,” said Cox during the panel discussion on Utah’s need to build a sustainable energy future. “We saw this coming, so we have to move very quickly.”

Other highlights from the multiday event include breakout sessions discussing several topics, including workforce development, policy landscape, electric transmission system resilience, future of transportation, critical minerals, renewables, and long duration energy storage. A feature panel of the event saw leaders of Enbridge Gas, Rocky Mountain Power, Tenaska, RAW-Energy, Inc., and Utah Associated Municipal Power Systems discuss utility perspectives of energy planning for the future. The final Plenary Panel focused on the importance of regional development and included state energy leaders from Utah, Arizona, Idaho, Nevada, and Wyoming.

For Rice, it was important that people with different perspectives in energy meet and find ways to work together.

“There are so many different perspectives. And it was great that we were all in the same room discussing these different perspectives,” Rice said. “Everybody came out and understood we all ultimately have the same goal of a resilient energy ecosystem, and how do we all get there together. Even if we do have different perspectives and viewpoints, we can all work together to meet those goals.”

Utah Energy Week was a big success thanks in big part to the sponsors and partners.

“If we did not have the sponsors, I don't know if we would have had such a great event and our sponsors play a key role in that,” said Rice. “Idaho National Laboratory was a key partner in planning this. We also worked with the Utah Office of Energy Development and Utah State University. Our partners play a critical role in success. Also, our event collaborators and the roles they played. So we want to make sure we really stress the importance of partnership and collaboration to make this a success.”

“Idaho National Laboratory was honored to partner with the University of Utah and Utah State University to deliver the inaugural energy week, providing access to sharing and building innovative energy solutions to solve pressing challenges and deliver opportunities for growth across research, demonstration, and development," said Laura Nelson, Idaho National Laboratory Regional Engagement Lead, Utah, in a statement.

Rice said Utah Energy Week will return in 2026, as Utah State University will be host to the event. The U will return as hosts in 2027.

For more information on Utah Energy Week, click here.

Related story: Gov. Cox and VPR Rothwell Call for Bold Innovation to Shape Utah’s Energy and Economic Future