9th January, 2012 - Posted by katherine - No Comments
KUT has this story about a solar plant in Webberville, which just began operating, making it the largest operating solar plant in Texas. The City of Austin has a 25 year contract with the plant to buy all the energy it produces. Here’s an excerpt from the article:
The city of Austin unveiled the solar farm today, which is supposed to generate 30 megawatts of energy each year – enough to power about 5,000 homes.
The Electric Reliability Council of Texas (ERCOT) expects challenges meeting energy demands if the summer proves to be as hot as 2011. Trip Doggett, chief executive of the state’s electric grid operator, says he can’t say the Webberville solar farm will be able to solve those challenges.
“I would say every little bit helps,” Doggett said. “This is not a tremendous magnitude of additional megawatts, but every little bit helps.”
Despite the relatively small energy output, the Webberville solar installation is the largest in Texas.Austin Energy has a 25-year contract to buy all the power from the plant which will help the city along in reaching its goal of getting at least 30 percent of its energy from renewable sources by 2020.
7th December, 2011 - Posted by katherine - No Comments
I received an Austin Climate Protection Program newsletter today, which had this story:
Austin Mayor Lee Leffingwell started his re-election bid in November with an announcement that it is his intention to find a way to provide energy to the City of Austin without the use of any coal-generated electricity.
“Starting immediately, I’m going to begin a dialogue with the community, with Austin Energy, with the LCRA, and with state officials, about how to make Austin coal-free–and aggressively plan a date to achieve that goal,” the mayor said during his announcements.
Currently, Austin obtains coal-based energy from only one source, the Fayette Power Project in La Grange.
The 600 megawatt plant provides nearly 20 percent of Austin’s power, while the rest comes from natural gas, nuclear
and an increasing amount of wind power. As a start to getting off coal, all City of Austin facilities and operations are 100% powered by Greenchoice® energy, derived from entirely renewable sources.
9th May, 2011 - Posted by katherine - No Comments
I saw this article in ABJ today, which states that Austin beat out Portland to be the top renewable power seller among 850 utilities nationwide. Portland General Electric has about twice as many customers as Austin Energy, so that’s pretty impressive for Austin. It seems that most of the customers participating in the Austin Energy Central Texas GreenChoice program, which allows you to “buy” green/renewable energy rather than coal or natural gas, are commercial customers (customers like Whole Foods, Cisco, and Dell), making up 83% of the green energy sold.
Read more: Austin Energy top green power seller in U.S. | Austin Business Journal
15th March, 2011 - Posted by katherine - No Comments
Today KUT and the Statesman both have articles about the nuclear disaster in Japan and the implications it has for the use of nuclear in Texas. The Statesman article focuses in a little more detail on the financial uncertainty of Japanese investment in the South Texas Project (a nuclear power plant near Matagorda Bay that currently has two reactors, with the building of another two additional reactors under consideration) while the KUT article is more general (the KUT article states “Currently Austin gets about 27% of its power from the nuclear plant. Over the years the city has flirted with the idea of increasing nuclear power’s percentage in Austin Energy’s portfolio. Karen Hadden is executive director of the Sustainable Energy and Economic Development or SEED Coalition. Her group has been battling against nuclear expansion in Austin and Texas. She points to the earthquake as an example of what can go wrong. ‘In Texas we may not have the risk of earthquakes at least at the South Texas Project site, but we do have hurricanes and we do have droughts that could impact our ability to cool reactors,’ said Hadden.”)
Click on the above articles for more details. It will be interesting to see how this plays out, with some arguing that when all goes as planned, nuclear can be a much cleaner energy source than other options such as coal , but can obviously have very disasterous consequences when things go wrong.
8th March, 2011 - Posted by katherine - No Comments
The ABJ has this story about the Fayette power plant (the Fayette Power Plant provides power to Austin Energy):
Three anti-pollution groups have filed a federal lawsuit against the Lower Colorado River Authority’s coal-fired power plant near La Grange, about 70 miles southeast of Austin.
The lawsuit was filed Monday by Washington, D.C.-based Environmental Integrity Project, Austin-based Environment Texas and Texas Campaign for the Environment, which has offices in Houston, Dallas and Austin.
The groups claim LCRA’s Fayette Power Project has violated the federal Clean Air Act thousands of times. The plaintiffs allege LCRA ramped up capacity and increased levels of dangerous particle pollution, which is not always visible to the eye but is linked to asthma and heart and lung disease….
22nd February, 2011 - Posted by katherine - No Comments
ABJ had this short article last week about Austin City Council’s decision last Thursday to implement a $46 per year car charging rate for customers with a subscrption to the “Plug-in Everywhere” program. There will be public electric charging stations through out the city for Austin Energy customers, and if you have purchased the subscription you get unlimited charging for the whole year – sounds like a pretty good deal if you are fortunate enough to have an electric car. I couldn’t find any info about it on Austin Energy’s website, but I had thought I heard on KUT that AE is offering the subscriptions for this low price in order to help AE learn about customer’s charging patterns.
6th December, 2010 - Posted by katherine - No Comments
The Statesman has this article today, which discusses a possible link between the Fayette Power Plant (a plant the provides power to the City of Austin) and lower pecan tree productiveness. Here’s an excerpt:
[Farmers] working in concert with Sierra Club, blame sulfur dioxide emissions from the nearby Fayette Power Project for the downturn in their crops. They demand that the Lower Colorado River Authority and Austin Energy, which co-own the plant, help them.
Officials with Austin Energy and the LCRA dismiss the pecan growers and environmentalists’ claims, and pecan experts are divided about whether such a thing is even possible. Two of the state’s agricultural extension agents have said they have never heard of a connection between pecan production and plant emissions.
Sulfur dioxide harming the plants in Fayette County is “a long shot,” said Larry Stein, a Texas A&M horticulturist based in Uvalde who specializes in pecans. What became Hayek Farm was started around 1900 by the grandfather of Hayek’s wife. By the time Hayek and his wife took over operations in the early 1970s, it had reached 200 acres with nearly 3,000 trees. He grew a half-dozen or more species, with names such as Desirables and Success. Harvests in the 1970s heyday were a quarter-million pounds a year.
16th November, 2010 - Posted by katherine - No Comments
The Statesman had this article about possible future efforts by AE to help build public charing stations for electric cars. Here’s an excerpt:
Austin Energy could invest as much as $28 million during the next five years on public charging equipment and promotion for electric cars.
The investment mirrors efforts by utilities across the state to elbow their way into the American transportation energy market. In effect, the power generating companies want to displace gasoline from a pump with electricity from a plug.
Austin officials say as many as 190,000 electric-powered cars, including plug-in hybrids, could be rolling around Austin in a decade. Other studies suggest that figure is optimistic, but whatever the number, the utility officials want to make the possibility a reality.
“We expect to get a lot of new revenue off that $28 million investment,” said Karl Rábago, vice president for distributed energy services at the city-owned utility.
Beyond a business decision, the utility couches the electric car money as an environmental and security effort.
“Any revenue we make comes at the expense of the oil industry,” Rábago said. “I want to keep our money in the community. I don’t want to send it to Yemen or Saudi Arabia or Venezuela.”
Thus far, oil companies have largely stayed mum as utilities take baby steps to expand into their market.
22nd October, 2010 - Posted by katherine - No Comments
Austin Business Journal has an article about a new Austin Energy Program. Here is an excerpt:
The so called “Best Offer Ever” would pay an estimated 42 percent of the cost to make whole-house energy efficiency improvements, up from the regular 20 percent rebate. Officials are hosting a news conference to announce details of the program Oct. 26.
From now until Dec. 20, customers that apply for Austin Energy’s “Home Performance with Energy Star Rebate” are eligible for the Best Offer. The upgraded incentive allows for 0 percent loans and up to $2,300 worth in Texas Gas Service rebates and federal tax credits.
Check out the whole article for more details!
Read more: Austin Energy unveils new green home incentives | Austin Business Journal
19th October, 2010 - Posted by katherine - No Comments
The Statesman has a story today which says that renewable energy development company FRV has submitted to Austin city officials a preliminary site plan for a solar plant east of Austin. The company hopes to complete the project by the end of 2011. Here’s an excerpt:
The plant will be one of the nation’s largest when it is built, generating enough power on its 177,000 solar panels to add as much as 30 megawatts of generating capacity to the 2,900 megawatts of capacity Austin already has. That translates to the power consumed by about 5,100 homes, Pryor [development chief for San Francisco-based FRV] said.
City officials say the array will keep Austin on pace to meet the city’s goal of getting one-third of its power from renewable sources by 2020.
But the renewable energy plan has had its critics, particularly large consumers of electricity, including Spansion, Freescale Semiconductor, St. David’s Medical Center and the Building Owners and Managers Association of Austin. They worry that the green sources will drive up electricity costs.
5th October, 2010 - Posted by katherine - No Comments
Check out ABJ, which had an article today stating:
Austin Energy has restarted its solar rebate program, making another $4 million available for installation incentives…
Commercial and multi-family applicants are eligible for performance-based incentives up to 14 cents per kilowatt of energy produced over 10 years. The typical customer receives as much as $5,000 a year on systems that cost about $130,000, according to the press release.
You can read more about the program form AE’s website
here.
5th October, 2010 - Posted by katherine - No Comments
I got an email today from the Austin Climate Protection Program which states that “Austin’s tree planting season is from October 1st through March 31st because weather conditions are cool and allow plants to establish roots in the new location before spring rains and summer heat stimulate new top growth.” I also noticed on Austin Energy’s website this tip:
A/C units shaded by trees or other means work more efficiently and use up to 10% less electricity
So if you’re thinking of adding trees to your yard, now is a great time, and being mindful of your AC location may save some cash in the summers to come.
photo credit
19th August, 2010 - Posted by katherine - No Comments
Austin Business Journal has this article, which says that Austin energy is contracting with a California company to supply more than $2 million in solar panels. The panels will be installed installed on municipal buildings for Austin Public Library, Austin Water Utility, Austin Energy and others. The article also notes that:
The project is part of Austin Energy’s plan to increase renewable energy capacity to 200 megawatts by 2020. The energy produced by the panels is equivalent to removing an estimated 380 cars from roads annually, or planting 59,475 trees.
The city has set aside a total $21.7 million for alternative energy purchases.
photo credit
11th August, 2010 - Posted by katherine - No Comments
Check out this KUT article, which says that Texas reached a new energy consumption record yesterday afternoon, at 63,830 megawatts. An Austin Energy representative Carlos Cordova said that “An air conditioner can only offset about 20 degrees from the outside temperature to the inside temperatures…so if you’re setting your thermostat at 75 or lower your air conditioner will run virtually all day long because it cannot cool that house down.” Cordova also recommended avoiding washing dishes or clothes during the day.
Photo credit
29th July, 2010 - Posted by carsi - No Comments
KUT has a story today on electric charging stations for cars, which will become important in November when Chevrolet starts selling its all-electric vehicle, the Volt, in Austin (for $41k). The car will be able to go about 40 miles on one charge, but it also has a generator to run on gas if needed. Still, some people are worried that consumers will get “range anxiety,” or a feeling of nervousness about having enough charge to get to their destinations. As of now, there is only one public charging station in Austin at the Whole Foods on 6th and Lamar, but the City is planning to add 100 more stations in the next two years. Right now, it’d take about eight hours to fully charge a car at that station, but that will be cut to three hours in the future.
Many people are also worried that, if the Volt takes off, all this charging will drain the electric grid, but some say there is enough power in clean energy to meet the demand. For example, wind power from East Texas is highest at night, when most people are expected to be charging their vehicles. Additionally, Austin Energy is working on incentives to promote charging at non-peak times. It should be interesting to see if the public is ready to purchase an all-electric vehicle and if the city is ready to support the accompanying electricity demand.
The Chevrolet Volt
photo credit
28th May, 2010 - Posted by carsi - No Comments
The Clean Air Force of Central Texas issues warnings when the levels of ground-level ozone in the air reach unhealthy levels. This has been happening lately, so it’s probably a good idea to keep an eye on the warnings each day. Unhealthy levels of ozone can be a lung irritant, which is especially bad for seniors, children, people with asthma, and people exercising outside. Check their website for updates on daily ozone warnings. You can even sign up to get emails about the ozone warnings. Although an ozone watch is in place, we haven’t yet reached unhealthy levels today. When the Orange Level is reached, it is recommended that “active children and adults as well as people with respiratory disease, such as asthma, limit prolonged outdoor exertion.”
Ozone is caused by human activities, and burning fossil fuels is the biggest contributor to ground-level ozone in Central Texas. The city has a website that gives all sorts of recommendations of things you can do to reduce ozone in our air, including green activities like driving less, carpooling, not letting your car idle, and taking the bus.
Also, on a related note, did you know that Austin Energy will give you a rebate if you purchase an all-electric vehicle? So awesome.
11th May, 2010 - Posted by katherine - 1 Comment
Austin Business Journal has this article which states that with help from a $450,000 grant from the U.S. Department of Energy, Austin Energy will be installing solar learning centers at 21 area schools. These centers will each have functioning solar generators that power the schools and teach students about the solar industry. Austin Energy will also be contributing $375,000 of its own funds.
26th April, 2010 - Posted by katherine - No Comments
This article has details about city council’s decision last week to approve Austin Energy’s proposed plan to increase the amount of electricity Austin gets from renewable resources.
The article states that “At (Mayor) Leffingwell’s suggestion, the council also decreed the plan not take effect until later this year to give the city time to craft specific cost-containment goals to be considered alongside the plan’s environmental objectives. The council will not authorize major energy purchases until the city decides how it will approach cost containment. The measure was requested by some big businesses and advocates for the poor, concerned the plan would raise rates too much. The plan does not address how the council will resolve potential conflicts between the new cost and environmental priorities. Austin Energy estimates the plan would raise rates 20 percent. But the utility concluded that the plan would be the best long-term hedge against possible coal and natural-gas price hikes.”
Austin Energy has pointed out before that city council’s approval of the plan does not mean that the plan cannot be adjusted in the future if changes are needed.
12th March, 2010 - Posted by carsi - No Comments
This article from the Austin Business Journal reports that Austin will be the first city in Texas to try out a new clean energy storage system. Austin Energy is planning to use the Ice Energy storage system to store energy during off-peak hours to distribute later during peak usage hours in small- to mid-sized commercial buildings. Ice Energy has also been affiliated with the Pecan Street Project.
More information about how the Ice Energy storage system works is available here.
25th February, 2010 - Posted by katherine - No Comments
As reported here in the Statesman, Austin Energy is seeking permission from City Council to secure rights to build and operate a wind farm in Pecos County. By owning the wind farm, Austin Energy hopes to have more control over wind costs than it currently has by buying wind power from privately-owned facilities. The article notes that AE is paying roughly about twice as much for wind power since it started buying it from privately-owned facilities a decade ago. Customers of AE can opt-in to AE’s GreenChoice program and buy wind energy.
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