Council Says Hello to New Austin Energy Plan

Austin through the haze (image via Getty Images)

The big business before City Council last week was approval of an update to Austin Energy’s Resource, Generation, and Climate Protection Plan, which lays out a road map for the public utility’s energy future through 2035. Utility and city leaders have emphasized that they hope the plan will improve energy affordability and reliability while continuing the transition away from climate-harming fossil fuels. Key features include continued commitments to making the utility carbon-free by 2035, to generating 70% of energy from renewable sources by 2030, and to exploring emerging technologies for energy generation and dependency like geothermal power plans and battery storage.

Last week, the Chronicle outlined concerns from environmental groups – some of which were shared by some CMs. Primarily, those concerns centered around AE’s proposal to eventually build energy generation infrastructure known as “peaker units” which run on natural gas – i.e., energy generation that emits carbon.

AE leaders have stressed that, if built, the peaker units would only be used during periods of high energy demand when other generation sources may be under stress. But, because the units emit carbon, they represent a step backward from the utility’s long-range carbon-free goal – which peaker critics point out not only provides the obvious environmental benefits, but also could help make AE a leader in the emerging green economy centered around renewable forms of energy.

Efforts to block the addition of peaker units to the plan were ultimately unsuccessful, but an amendment from CM Ryan Alter will make it more difficult for AE to build them. After completing phase one of the four-phase process required to build one of the peaker units, AE staff will have to present a report to Council that shows why a carbon-free alternative was not available, what analysis they performed in reaching that determination, and how the requested peaker would impact the 2035 carbon-free goal. Other amendments from Council put firmer requirements for AE’s battery storage plans and the setting of an “upper limit” on how much carbon AE generation resources are allowed to emit, both of which are intended to act as guardrails around the potential use of peaker units.

CM Alison Alter, who became one of Council’s leading energy experts and provided key oversight of the utility, acknowledged the compromises included in the plan. “As we strive for reliability, affordability, sustainability, and equity, the trade-offs are real,” Alter said. “It is my hope that the plan before us provides [AE flexibility] while clearly communicating our values and expectations.”

Alter concluded by noting that the challenge in making sure those values and expectations are met now lies with AE leaders – and the next Council. “We will not be judged by the plan,” Alter said, “but in how it is executed. The choices made over the next few years will be critical.”