Natural gas or renewables? That is the question a long-anticipated study by a local consulting firm has tried to answer. The study, which was released on Monday, concluded that yes, it does make economic and environmental sense for Austin Energy to build a new $500 million natural gas plant. Financially, the study showed that of all the energy options, natural gas or wind power made the most sense. However, it also showed that there are no major cost differences between natural gas and a series of different renewable energy options.

In the end, the study concluded that natural gas is the safer bet because of its ability to mitigate costly transmission congestion, which can occur when a lot of Austin’s energy is generated outside of the Austin area.However, the study has only just been released and has yet to be fully scrutinized by the the Electric Utility Commission or City Council. So, stay tuned for more analysis and debate as City Council gets closer to making a decision on its future energy generation plans, which as the Austin American-Statesman reports, probably won’t happen until sometime next year. More info>>