18 Aug Phase Out Fayette Faster

Today Austin Energy (AE) submitted its final recommendations to the Mayor and Austin City Council concerning Austin’s electricity mix. In late October, possibly early November, Austin City Council will vote on the plan for Austin’s energy future. Among other things, AE has recommended, ‘As we introduce more renewable energy into the system, we will reduce our dependence on carbon-intensive sources of generation, including the Fayette Power Plant and older gas-fired generation units.’ The recommendations by Austin Energy to reduce our dependence on burning coal for electricity and to develop more rooftop solar, plus other renewable power, and energy efficiency options are awesome. Very happy with the direction AE is pointing, and could we go there a little sooner? The regional background ozone that blows in from the Fayette plant does contribute to our Austin air quality problems and even though it is one of the cleaner coal plants, it is still a coal plant and it emits 10-11 million tons per year of CO2, the principal global warming gas. One scenario from the City’s consultant shows phasing out the Fayette coal plant by 2020. Some say it is possible to phase out Fayette power plant in five years. The best way to find out is for the City’s consultants to study the possibility of phasing out Fayette faster. Oh! And could you add ‘no coal’ as an option and tons more efficiency and conservation to the Smart Energy survey?” # # #