Austin 6th in Sustainable Cities List

From: Smarter Cities (NRDC)

One major advantage in climate change protection that Austin, Texas, has over other cities, according to Ester Matthews, director of the Austin Climate Protection Program, is the fact that the city owns its energy utility. It’s not just because it provides the city with more funding to invest in other green programs; it’s because Austin, the “Live Music Capital of the World” and home to the University of Texas, has a progressive community that insists on a responsive government. In the case of Austin Energy, this means the citywide-elected board members of the utility—City Council members—support efficient energy measures. Also, Texas is the only state on its own electrical grid.

This combination allowed the city—relatively quickly and without the need for federal approval—to plan to adopt a smart grid, which is the infrastructure of the not-so-distant future that will distribute energy production and storage systemwide. If the plan, known as the “Pecan Street Project,” materializes, it will develop alternative energy, putting solar panels on homes and compensating residents for excess energy used to power something else in the city. The project has partners in the university, the Environmental Defense Fund, and corporations including Dell, GE Energy and IBM.

Although the city is one of the country’s most advanced in using energy efficiency and allocating it effectively, its three major energy sources for electricity currently are coal, nuclear power and natural gas. But Austin Energy is working toward a goal of 30 percent renewable by 2020, and currently obtains 11 percent of its energy from wind power. It also offers a 100 percent green energy option, GreenChoice.