[Energy] Austin City Council continued to make history today by authorizing Austin Energy to make yet another big solar purchase. Their decision allows the utility to contract out for 162 MW of solar energy, meaning that Austin will have about 600 MW of solar power by the end of 2016. This means that Austin will get about 13 percent of its energy from the sun by 2017. At today’s meeting, city council also asked Austin Energy to build out an additional 150 MW of solar by the end of 2019, if available and affordable.

There had been a lot of controversy swirling around this latest energy purchase, with Austin Energy asking council to wait to buy the additional solar power sometime over the next 10 years, with the expectation that rates will be even lower in the future. Many solar and environmental advocates pushed back against this claim, asking city council to approve the purchase of an additional 300 MW – 350 MW of solar power. In the end, council decided to propose a compromise and settled on 162 MW, a significant amount of solar power. More info>>

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[Wildfires] Bastrop again finds itself fighting off wildfires with the growth of the Hidden Pines fire, now covering up to 4,383 acres. At the time of publication, only 25 percent of the fire was contained and Governor Greg Abbot had declared astate of disaster in Bastrop County. Already, 650 acres of Buescher State Park have burned, hundreds of homes have been evacuated, and dozens have been destroyed.

This recent bout of fire brings up memories of the 2011 Labor Day fire in Bastrop that destroyed 1,600 homes. Luckily, the Hidden Pines fire is currently only a fraction of its size. For consistent updates on the fire, be sure to check back in with this blog from the Austin American-Statesman>>* Special note – Due to the wildfire, this weekend’s Bastrop Solar Tour has been canceled. However, they will still be at Stanberry & Associates on Saturday morning, taking donations for wildfire victims and emergency providers. Monetary donations can be made here. The tour will likely be rescheduled for sometime in November. *

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[Green Development] Interested in helping to shape the future of Austin? Have ideas about what your neighborhood should look like? The City of Austin invites you to attend one of their upcoming Community Walks, designed to connect members of the city’s CodeNEXT team with the general public. CodeNEXT is the city’s initiative to revise its Land Development Code, which determines how land can be used throughout the city – including what can be built, where it can be built, and how much can (and cannot) be built.

Each Community Walk will last one hour and take place in a different neighborhood, allowing residents and business owners to share observations and insights.Upcoming walks will take place on:

• Friday, Oct. 16th at 8am at the Crestview rail station
• Wednesday, Oct. 21st at 8am in front of JuiceLand on E. Martin Luther King Jr. Blvd.
• Thursday, Oct. 22nd at 7:30am at the H-E-B on Research Blvd.

A full list of upcoming Community Walks is available here>>

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[Transportation] You’ve probably heard that Google’s self-driving cars have been roaming around the streets of Austin. But how are they going to affect the future of Austin’s traffic? How is the city planning for autonomous vehicles? Find out with the latest blog from AEN Intern Dillon J. Long,“Innovating Solutions Through Autonomy.”

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Austin will be celebrating with a long list of recycling and reuse events, including:

• Recycle and Reuse Drop-Off Center Grand (re)Opening – Saturday, October 17th from10am to 2pm at 2514 Business Center Dr.
• Reuse Week: Let’s Celebrate Chickens – Learn how chickens can actually be big time recyclers on Saturday, October 17th from10am to 11:30am at Callahan’s General Store
• Reuse Week Celebration at Treasure City Thrift – Enjoy some refreshments and meet other reuse enthusiasts on Tuesday, October 20th from 5pm to 7pm at Treasure City Thrift
• Upcycle This! at Recycled Reads – Make your own Halloween costume out of reused materials on Thursday, October 22nd from6pm to 7:30pm
• Austin Creative Reuse National Reuse Day Celebration – Learn how to reuse old record album covers to make beautiful nested gift boxes on Thursday, October 22nd from 6pm to 8pm