Credit: Photo by Jana Birchum

On Friday, May 14, in the LBJ High School gymnasium, Austin Energy and the Austin Independent School District celebrated Austin’s designation as one of 25 Department of Energy Solar America Cities and announced a plan to establish 21 solar outdoor learning centers at AISD schools over the next year. That will bring the total number of local solar campuses to 30 AISD schools, plus two Austin Community College campuses. The program – underwritten by a $450,000 grant from the DOE, with matching funds or in-kind contributions from AE and AISD – was welcomed by U.S. Rep. Lloyd Doggett, city officials, a DOE spokesman, UT engineering faculty, AISD officials, and LBJ students.

This article appears in May 21 • 2010.

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Contributing writer and former news editor Michael King has reported on city and state politics for the Chronicle since 2000. He was educated at Indiana University and Yale, and from 1977 to 1985 taught at UT-Austin. He has been the editor of the Houston Press and The Texas Observer, and has reported and written widely on education, politics, and cultural subjects.