The people and places that power Utah
Utah state Rep. Carl Albrecht represents some of the state’s most distinctive communities. A leading voice on federalism, Albrecht has worked to give Utah more control over its energy future while helping rural families build opportunity close to home. He recently spoke with American Habits editor Ray Nothstine about geothermal and nuclear power, public lands, rural economic development, and what rural Utah can teach the country.
You represent some of the most beautiful parts of the state, communities shaped by energy, public lands, tourism, agriculture, and small-town life. For readers who mostly know Utah through Salt Lake City or the national parks, what should they understand about the people you represent?
Rep. Carl Albrecht: The people I represent are mostly rural, and many of these communities have been that way since they were settled in the late 1800s. They’re hardworking people—farmers, ranchers, small business owners, and families who have been tied to the land for generations.
They’re God-fearing and family-oriented, and they take seriously their role as stewards of the land. In rural Utah, people depend on the land to make a living, so they understand the importance of taking care of it.
You are heavily involved in Utah’s federalism efforts and the state’s push to control more of its energy future. What does energy federalism mean in practical terms, not just for policymakers, but for a rancher, a small business owner, or families in rural Utah?
Rep. Albrecht: In practical terms, it means Utah should be able to develop its own resources and make decisions closer to the people those decisions affect. We have tremendous energy resources in rural Utah: coal, natural gas, geothermal, wind, solar, hydro, and now nuclear. In my district, and across southern rural Utah, we provide much of the state’s energy.
I like to remind my colleagues from the Wasatch Front: “You’d better be good to us, because we provide your power, your food, and your recreation.” It gets a laugh, but it’s true.
For rural families, federalism means having a real say in how our land and resources are managed. It means the state can move forward with responsible development instead of waiting on one-size-fits-all decisions from Washington.
Utah has a strong Federalism Commission in the Legislature, and we’ve worked to build support across the aisle and across the country. This isn’t just a red-state issue. Administrations change in Washington. What we want people to understand is that, in Utah, federalism is about self-government, local knowledge, and the ability to take care of our own communities and resources.
That leads to a related question. In talking with lawmakers in other states, I’ve noticed there can be a lot more distrust between the parties. Utah seems to have a broader, more bipartisan commitment to federalism than some other states. Why do you think federalism has such a strong hold in Utah?
Rep. Albrecht: I think that’s true, Ray, and I believe a lot of it goes back to Utah’s pioneer heritage. Whether you’re on the left side of the aisle or the right side, there is a shared understanding here of what it meant for people to come west, settle this state, and build communities from the ground up.
We have good members from both parties who participate in the Federalism Commission. It’s not just sitting legislators, either. We have people who serve in the community, people who have run for Congress, sheriffs, and others who are part of that work. When we hosted the national federalism conference in Utah, we had people from both sides of the aisle participate.
To me, it stems from Utah’s history. The pioneers came to the Salt Lake Valley in 1847 under Brigham Young, after facing religious persecution in the Midwest. Utah didn’t become a state until 1896, but that early settlement experience still shapes the way people here think about self-government, community, and the proper role of the federal government. Whether someone is a Democrat or a Republican, I think that history gives Utahns a stronger appreciation for federalism and local decision-making.
Last year, American Habits interviewed Fervo Energy about its geothermal work and Cape Station near Milford. What does a project like that tell us about rural Utah’s potential to help lead the next generation of American energy?
Rep. Albrecht: Cape Station is in my district. I serve Beaver County, and geothermal has really taken off there.
Before Fervo came in, there was a federal project called Utah FORGE that received federal funding and worked with the University of Utah. They drilled deep into the hot rock—about 15,000 feet—and helped develop the process. Fervo, as a private company, came in and is now developing Cape Station. I believe the project is around 350 megawatts.
Right now, that power is going to California over the transmission grid. When you build a new generating facility, the price often starts high. Then, as the technology improves and additional units are built, the cost begins to come down.
California’s energy portfolio allows them to pay more for that kind of power right now. Utah still has a lot of baseload coal and natural gas, so we are not taking that power into the Utah system yet. But the project has still meant a great deal to rural Utah because of the jobs it creates and the money it brings into small towns.
What I like about geothermal is that it runs 24 hours a day, 365 days a year. Even though it is renewable, it has advantages over wind and solar because it can provide steady power. I think it is going to continue to grow—not just in Beaver County, but across the western part of Utah and even into Nevada, where there is strong potential for geothermal development.
As the cost comes down, I believe geothermal will become part of Utah’s energy portfolio.
Let me ask you about nuclear energy. Utah has not traditionally been thought of as a nuclear-energy state, but is that changing? Are people becoming more open to nuclear, and do you think it is a serious option for Utah’s energy future?
Rep. Albrecht: It’s very serious. In 2025, I ran point on HB 249, which was the first nuclear bill that session. Since then, Gov. Spencer Cox has taken the issue and really run with it through Operation Gigawatt.
Utah is in an interesting position. We have uranium mines on the Colorado Plateau in southeastern Utah, and the [Trump] administration recently gave permission to open a couple of those back up. We also have the country’s only uranium processing facility, the White Mesa Mill, in southeastern Utah.
We’ve also developed the San Rafael Energy Research Center, northeast of where I live. As a result of my bill, nuclear companies have come to the governor’s office and to the state. Right now, a small modular reactor, or SMR, is being developed at the San Rafael Energy Research Center.
There are also SMRs being developed in northern Utah, in Box Elder County. We don’t have the large nuclear facilities that exist in other parts of the country, but SMR technology is really growing here.
The technology has changed. It’s safe, and it can be very good for Utah. We have areas where the grid is not as strong, and an SMR could provide reliable central-station power to smaller communities. So, yes, nuclear is not just a fad. It is taking off in Utah.
Much of Utah is federally managed public land. How do federal permitting, environmental review, and public-land restrictions shape what rural Utah can or cannot build? Where do you think reform is most needed?
Rep. Albrecht: Utah has a good Public Lands Policy Coordinating Office that has been working closely with the administration. We are starting to see some regulations streamlined through that office and through our Department of Environmental Quality.
As we mentioned, Utah has five national parks and many state parks. About 66% of the state is public land, whether it is managed by the Forest Service, the Bureau of Land Management, or another federal agency. In some of the counties I represent, more than 95% of the land is federally controlled. That makes it very difficult for local communities.
There is not much land available for local taxation. What little private land exists is often tied to agriculture or tourism because of the national parks. We have reduced Utah’s income tax rate 10 years in a row, and we would like to get to the point someday—especially with new development in areas like nuclear energy—where we could eliminate it entirely. But we cannot be like Florida or Texas overnight because our land base is so different.
Sen. Mike Lee and others in our federal delegation are working on permitting reform. At the state level, our federalism efforts, public lands office, and Department of Environmental Quality are also trying to make progress. We have been good stewards of the land, and we want reforms that recognize that.
People here care deeply about these places. We do not want someone coming in and taking away our favorite fishing hole or hunting area. We live here. We know the land, we use it, and we take care of it.
You mentioned how much people in rural Utah care about protecting their land, culture, and way of life. At the same time, many rural communities across America are trying to keep young people and young families from leaving. What are the biggest barriers to building a life in rural Utah, and what can the state do to create opportunity without losing the character of these communities?
Rep. Albrecht: That’s a great question. I’ve tried hard during my 10 years in the Legislature to improve that situation. I have three kids, and all of them moved to the Wasatch Front because there were not enough good jobs here. If I want to see my grandkids in the state softball tournament, I must travel north to the Wasatch Front.
I’ve sponsored a few bills to help address that. One was the Rural Online Initiative, which helps people get trained so they can work online from their kitchen table and supplement their income by working for companies around the state, country, or even the world. That program has been very successful.
I also passed a bill creating the Rural Economic Accelerator Program. I worked with Utah State University and the state Farm Bureau on that. The idea is that when farmers are slower in the winter, after they have processed and sold their crops, they can receive training to sell products online—whether that is honey, beef, or something else—and supplement their income.
I also sponsored a rural agritourism bill. It allows farmers and ranchers to get liability coverage and offer things like Halloween corn mazes, dairy tours, cattle-ranch tours, and other agritourism opportunities. Again, the goal is to help rural families add income without giving up the way of life that makes these communities special.
What we need in rural Utah, in addition to jobs in mining and trucking, is more light industry. That is hard to attract because many companies want a major airport, access to an interstate, and proximity to a larger city. In my area, we do have access to Interstate 70, which is not far from Interstate 15, the main north-south route through Utah. But it is still difficult to get smaller manufacturing or light-industrial companies to locate in rural Utah.
I sometimes say our best export is our children.
It is not because the area lacks beauty. We have five national parks, and we have a wonderful trail system on public lands for mountain biking and ATVs. People come from all over the country to ride those trails, which we have developed with the Forest Service and the Bureau of Land Management.
But when a company considers opening a smaller satellite manufacturing facility, they are also thinking about airports, shopping, schools, restaurants, and whether families will be happy living there. We have a Walmart, a Home Depot, and some good rural steakhouses, but we do not have all the amenities of a larger city.
I saw that firsthand when I was CEO of a small power company. If I wanted to hire a journeyman lineman from a utility in Salt Lake City or Provo, the family would often come down, visit, and think, “This would be a great place to raise kids.” And it is. But sometimes, after two or three years, the spouse was unhappy because they missed the shopping, services, and conveniences of a larger community. That is just one of the realities rural Utah faces.
As America approaches its 250th anniversary, what can rural Utah teach the country about self-government, stewardship, work, family, and freedom?
Rep. Albrecht: It comes back to pride, hard work, and family life. People in rural Utah work hard, and they play hard. We teach our kids to work. They have responsibilities. On the farm, they have chores to do. That is just part of the lifestyle.
I sometimes say our best export is our children. As I mentioned, my own kids moved to the Wasatch Front because that is where the jobs were. But the values they learned here—family, faith, country, honesty, integrity, and hard work—stay with them.
You see that in the young people who go into the armed services and serve their country. A lot of them come from rural communities and the central part of the country, where they grew up learning how to work hard and take responsibility.
In rural Utah, we still have a strong family-oriented and faith-based culture. For many people here, including members of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints, those values are deeply connected to family, honesty, service, and hard work.
Even as more people move into Utah, many are getting tired of crowded freeways, long lines, and red lights. Some of them are moving to the country because they want a different way of life. My hope is that we can preserve that lifestyle and pass it on to the next generation.
This summer, I’m participating in several parades, and my theme is America’s 250th anniversary. I enjoy rural Utah, and my family does, too. They come down as often as they can to get out of the urban jungle and reconnect with this way of life.
