Every now and then some good environmental news about our backyard comes along. It turns out that Austin, Texas is the number one city in America for clean technology industries according to SustainLane (“the premier online sustainability best practices knowledge base”), a recent Time Magazine article, and others.
There are a number of exciting advances in green technology happening in Austin.
Chief among them is the Pecan Street Project, the country’s largest urban ‘smart grid’ network. A smart grid allows utility companies to gain real time feedback from individual consumers across their entire network and should provide great increases in efficiency, reliability of service, and even enhanced security.
Austin recently opened the largest solar farm in Texas, a 30 megawatt facility in Webberville. The Webberville Solar Project is but one step in reaching the city’s goal of getting at least 35% of its energy from renewables by 2020. Other steps in this direction include the sale of the Fayette Coal Plant, a notorious polluter.
Clean tech companies like Joule Unlimited (a biofuels producer), HelioVolt (a thin film solar panel manufacturer), SolarBridge (which makes AC modules for solar panels), and many others make Austin a creative hot spot for the industry.
This great environment for the clean technology industry did not just appear out of thin air. A strong partnership between our local (city owned) utility (Austin Energy), the University of Texas’s Clean Energy Incubator (a program which provides venture capital funding and laboratory space to new businesses), Austin’s forward thinking city council, and state and federal funding sources provides the unique conditions for the clean tech sector to flourish. The Pecan Street Project, for instance, was partially funded through a large grant from the 2009 Federal Stimulus.
This year’s elections will have very real consequences for the burgeoning clean technology industry in Austin. While I’m sure Brigid Shea (a former councilwoman and Save Our Springs director) would be a stalwart environmental defender, Lee Leffingwell has some very real accomplishments he can point to. The partnership between public utility, university, private enterprise, and city council works in Austin in a way it doesn’t work anywhere else. I would be very cautious about making major changes here.
Today’s the last day to formally ask the EPA to enforce the Clean Air Act in Texas.
Sierra Club our environmental partners, bicyclists, medical communities, and interfaith partners delivered comments last week from more than 2,000 Texans to officials at the Region 6 headquarters of
the EPA in Dallas and we want them to hear from even more of us today!Here’s the story on KERA public radio in Dallas.
What’s all the fuss about?More and more Texans are realizing that Texas is in the problematic position of having more proposed coal plants than any other state in the nation.With 12 in various stages of construction or permitting challenges, Michigan, second worst with 4 planned coal plants, leaves Texas in the really big dust.
Texans are learning that coal plants make people sick.Medical practitioners have become increasingly involved in opposing Texas coal plants – particularly in Corpus Christi, the site of the proposed Las Brisas pet coke plant; in Austin, which could become the first municipal utility in the state to reject coal; and in Dallas, which is downwind of the majority of Texas existing coal plants and has been in non-attainment of federal air quality standards.At the EPA last week, Dallas-based pediatrician, Dr. Karen Lewis with Physicians for Social Responsibility said, “Coal plants in Texas emit huge volumes of heavy duty respiratory toxins and we're seeing skyrocketing rates of asthma and respiratory illness in children.”Dr. Lewis addressed mercury pollutionwhichleads to developmental and neurological disorders in children, “Doctors recommend that pregnant women not eat large fish and limit their intake of smaller fish, but can we talk about where the mercury in such otherwise healthy food as fish comes from?The bottom line is that we shouldn’t be building more coal plants in Texas.”
There are other reasons to fight coal plants.Coal plants cost too much.And, costs are rising as new, more protective clean air standards become law.The new standards will place many additional regions of Texas in ‘non-attainment’ status jeopardizing federal funds and they will require coal plants to install costly new scrubbers. Texans don’t need to foot this bill when we live in a state with so much clean energy know-how and wind and solar resource.
Coal plants also cause global warming and use enormous amounts of water.This is a serious problem in Texas where we experience extreme drought.
Fortunately, more people are becoming actively involved.People are hearing about the second wave of the Texas coal rush in part thanks to Forrest Wilder’s Texas Observer article ‘Coal Star State’ and also thanks to hundreds of Sierrans, our environmental partners and bicycling community friends who came out to Roll Beyond Coal at rallies, bike rides, and hikes in five Texas cities on October 31.Sierra Club’s long time chemist, former state regulator, and clean air warrior, Neil Carman believes that the recently appointed new EPA Administrator at Region VI in Dallas can make a difference in the coal plant fight.
We got a hopeful sign last week when a company decided that it won’t import PCBs and burn them in Port Arthur.He thinks the new EPA can also intervene on TCEQ’s habit of permitting big coal polluters.
Sierra Club will continue challenging coal plants in Texas and we need your help!Let the EPA know today that you want them to block Texas coal plants and take a serious look at the 17 existing coal plants.
(Sarah saved me the time and energy from writing my own post. Thanks! - promoted by Phillip Martin)
This afternoon the Austin City Council moved unanimously to approve Item 16 on the agenda, the purchasing power agreement with Gemini Solar Development Company to build a 30 MW solar plant at the Webberville tract. That means that by the end of 2011, Austin should be the proud home of the nation's largest utility scale photovoltaic installation. This is a tremendous milestone for both the City and Austin Energy that will set us up as a leader in solar energy, create jobs, attract industry, and protect our citizens from volatile future energy prices while curbing our global warming emissions.
Lee Leffingwell made the motion to approve item 16 with three additional recommendations. The first direction was to include a provision that any federal stimulus funds, rebates, or incentives recovered would be passed on to Austin, rather than kept by Gemini. The second was to create a new task force to review future energy projects. The task force, he promised, would consist of diverse stakeholders and not be weighted in terms of energy usage. This is an important point, as several representatives from the city's large scale industrial users such as Spansion and the Building Owners and Managers Association (BOMA) specifically requested that future stakeholder meetings be based upon the size of user consumption-- meaning that in future energy projects, city council dialogue would be dominated even more than ever by large industrials. As David Power, Public Citizen's Deputy Director, testified, that sounds a little too much like, "for every dollar I spend, I get a vote." Cheers to Lee Leffingwell for insisting on a more inclusive process.
The third and final additional direction was, as expected, to roll the power purchase agreement into Green Choice, so that citizens would be able to voluntarily opt into a program to buy solar power at a locked-in price. Councilman Mike Martinez stated that he would be more than happy to be the first person to sign up for such a program, except that Leffingwell already called "shotgun" on that distinction.
Council members Sheryl Cole, Laura Morrison, and Randi Shade all made additional comments in support of the plant, stating that this was a tough decision to make in hard economic times but that this solar plant, far from a luxury item, was an important element of Austin's long term energy goals.
The Austin City Council has earned Public Citizen's most heartfelt appreciation for proving itself, once again, a renewable energy leader. We especially respect the time and effort that the Council and its staff put into this contentious process, and look forward to working with them on future projects.
Ed. note: The following 2,500+ word piece, and the interviews tomorrow, were completed on volunteer time. If you want to see more work like this and support the efforts of those on BOR who are committed to bringing the best coverage of state and local politics, we would ask you to contribute to TexBlog PAC as a gesture of appreciation. We may just be kid bloggers, but we are committed to the community, and we believe journalism should be reflective of community values and community interest. Thank you for being part of our community, and enjoy the reading.
On Thursday, March 5th, the Austin City Council will vote on a proposed contract with the California-based group Gemini Solar Development Company that could potentially launch the solar energy industry in Central Texas. The official language on the Austin City Council's March 5, 2009 agenda reads as follows:
Authorize award, negotiation, and execution of a contract with GEMINI SOLAR DEVELOPMENT COMPANY, LLC, San Francisco, CA, to purchase up to 30 megawatts of solar-generated power over a 25-year term at an estimated annual amount of $10,000,000, for an estimated total contract amount of $250,000,000.
Proponents of the measure point to the 30 megawatts of solar power the plant will bring to the city over the next twenty-five years, and argue that Austin can't wait to begin buildings its roots in the solar energy field. The proposal, championed by environmental groups and the Austin semiconductor community alike, has generated interest in communities as far as San Antonio, who envision developing a partnership with Austin to help, as a San Antonio Express-News article puts it, "chase the sun" in order to establish an economic corridor for the region that creates jobs and protects the environment.
However, some concerns persist about the project. The price tag -- though the most competitive among fifteen proposals made to the Austin City Council -- still appears to bring too little bang for the buck. At a time of economic uncertainty, there is worry that Austin is paying too much for too little, and that more time and a better negotiation process could lead to a proposal for a plant that would generate more energy at a lesser cost.
The proposed solar power plant has made its way into the Austin mayoral race. Austin's Mayor Pro Tempore, Brewster McCracken, has arisen as a strong and unflinching voice in support of the project. McCracken highlighted the proposed Gemini project during a trip two weeks ago to meet with San Antonio City Councilmembers (Source); he also hosted a "convergence event" focused on the possiblity of building a renewable energy corridor between the two cities. Lee Leffingwell, a fierce advocate of sound environmental policies in Austin, has focused less of his campaign attention on the project, spending more time on announcing endorsements. That being said, Leffingwell has stated that he supports the project, and that his concerns are more about implementation and making it cost efficient for the city than anything else. (Source)
Though the political implications of the vote are relevant to Austin's mayoral race, today's post will not delve into the political positions of McCracken or Leffingwell. Instead, I will post interviews with each Councilmember tomorrow, each of which extensively -- and almost exclusively -- discusses their views on the Gemini project and the future of Austin's renewable energy economy.
Today's post will focus exclusively on the pros and cons of the proposed project. Specifically, I will examine the following questions:
What is the history of the Gemini project?
Is 30 megawatts of solar energy capacity a big deal, or is Austin getting too little bang for its buck?
Is a long-term investment in a solar energy industry worth signing an imperfect yet promising deal with Gemini?
Six state legislators joined environmental advocates Monday morning to forecast a sunny session for solar power. Public Citizen, Environment Texas and the Lone Star Chapter of the Sierra Club hosted a statewide round of press conferences this week to roll out our solar report, Texas Solar Roadmap -- which can be downloaded at www.cleanenergyfortexas.org.
Texas Solar Roadmap highlights how a robust solar program would help put Texans back to work, reduce peak energy prices, curb climate change, improve air quality, and position the state as a world leader for solar production. The full report is a pretty good read, but if you're short on time I suggest the condensed version, Wildcatting the Sun.
Senators Troy Fraser (R-Abilene), Leticia Van de Putte (D-San Antonio), Kirk Watson (D-Austin), Rodney Ellis (D-Houston), and Representatives Mark Strama (D-Austin) and Rafael Anchia (D-Dallas) all appeared to champion the solar bills they have introduced thus far.
Rafael Anchia's HB 278 and Florence Eliot Shapiro's SB 427 would require the state's electric utilities to support the development of 2000 megawatts of solar and other on-site renewable technologies by offering direct incentives to consumers and businesses.
This is right in line with Public Citizen's distributed solar goal, outlined in both Wildcatting the Sun and Texas Solar Roadmap. According to our report , such a standard could lead to installations on as many as 500,000 roofs in Texas by 2020 at a cost of about 98 cents per month per Texan (Polls have shown that 81% of Texas voters are willing to pay up to a dollar a month to encourage solar power. What about you?). This investment would create an estimated 22,000 jobs and reduce emissions of carbon dioxide emissions by 29 million tons, the equivalent of taking 4.3 million cars off the road for a year.
Anchia stressed that this should be Texas' solar session because it would answer two of our major challenges: air quality, and global warming. Senator Fraser was the first legislator to speak, proclaiming that this would be Texas' solar session. Chairman of the Business and Commerce Committee, Fraser is well positioned to be an effective solar champion...
Beginning today, April 24th, leaders in the solar industry will meet at the Texas Solar Forum taking place at the State Capitol in Austin. You can hear what's happening via the Texas House of Representatives media site.
Thursday April 24, 2008
Noon - Texas Solar Forum.
Internet on Livestream 7; House TV on Channel 24; In Auditorium.
Friday April 25, 2008
8:00am - Texas Solar Forum.
Internet on Livestream 7; House TV on Channel 24; In Auditorium.
On April 24th and 25th, leaders in the solar industry will meet at the Texas Solar Forum happening at the State Capitol in Austin. Attending will be solar executives, elected officials, manufacturers, electric utility providers, homebuilders, retailers, financiers, entrepreneurs, and other interested parties. This should prove to be a very informative event.
This week, hundreds of Texans from all across the state descended on the Texas capitol to protest Governor Perry's decision to fast-track the construction of nineteen new coal-fired power plants. Their concerns are well-founded; coal is a non-renewable resource that pollutes our air and contributes dramatically to global climate change. As ill-founded as plans are to build new coal plants, Texas will need new sources of energy over the coming years, which is why I believe our state needs to become a leader in renewable energy by making an investment in solar power.
Texas ranks first in the nation in solar resource potential, according to the Comptroller's State Energy Conservation Office (SECO). Unlike wind, solar power is available across the state in quantities that only vary modestly. Quite literally, any place the sun is shining is a good place for solar power. Texas' cities hold huge potential for electricity production through photovoltaic (PV) panels, solar panels which convert sunlight into electricity. If Texas had photovoltaic panels installed throughout just five percent of its urban areas, (on building rooftops, above parking garages, along roadways and so forth) they would produce half of Texas' current electrical consumption . To put it another way: Texans know how the sun beats down on them - why not put that to use?
Texans are learning that 
