Austin Energy Kicks off Ambitious GreenChoice Program

Austin Energy, the City of Austin’s electric utility, has begun inviting its 350,000 customers to sign up for GreenChoice--a program aimed at providing power generated from wind, sun and biomass by 2005 sufficient to meet 5% of the utility’s energy sales.

In addition, the premium GreenChoice subscribers will be asked to pay--four-tenths of a cent per kilowatt-hour (kWh) of electricity used or about $4 per month for the average residential customer--will be the smallest premium for any comparable green power program in the nation, according to a U.S. Department of Energy survey.

“We hope to become the utility against which all green power programs are measured,” said Chuck Manning, General Manager of Austin Energy.

Austin Energy is committing to $7.8 million in spending in each of the next 10 years to purchase power generated from wind and landfill-recovered methane gas. The utility will provide $6.8 million annually with the goal of $1 million annually to be provided by subscribers. The funding will secure 40 megawatts of renewable energy annually, enough electricity to power about 14,000 homes.

“This is a perfect example of how Austin residents can think globally and act locally,” said Austin Mayor Kirk Watson, who signed up for GreenChoice with City Council members and leaders of the state’s major environmental organizations to kick off the subscription campaign. “This program fits the quality of life emphasis in our community that keeps Austin, Texas at the top of every “best place to live” list.

To service the Austin Energy program, 12 wind turbine generators will be built in Upton County in West Texas by Texas Wind Power Corporation of Austin. Construction is expected to begin this spring with power to begin flowing by this fall. Each wind generator will have three fiberglass blades, 100 feet long, mounted on a support structure that will reach 260 feet tall.

Six landfill projects also will be built to serve Austin. These projects involve the construction of systems to collect methane gas from the natural decomposition process of garbage. The gas, collected through a series of pipes that are inserted into the landfill, is routed to an on-site generator that produces electricity. Construction on the six landfill projects will occur over the next 12 months. The contractors are EcoGas Corporation of Austin and Energy Developments Incorporated of Houston. One landfill project will be located in Austin, two in Houston, one in Galveston, one in San Antonio and one is near Dallas.

Once customer subscriptions to GreenChoice reach a certain level, Austin Energy will begin matching subscriptions dollar-for-dollar. In all, Austin Energy will dedicate annually up to 5% of the actual net income from the previous year. Austin’s environmental community has pledged to work diligently to ensure the program is a success. “This is the best designed green power program I have seen anywhere in the country,” said Jim Marston, Director of the Texas office of Environmental Defense. “We want this program to be a model for what can be accomplished if a community is serious about the quality of their air.”

Austin Energy customers can subscribe to GreenChoice on-line by visiting the Austin Energy Web site at http://www.austinenergy.com/.

By increasing its use of renewable energy sources, Austin Energy, which generates most of is its electricity with coal, natural gas or nuclear fuel, will reduce carbon dioxide (CO2) emissions into the atmosphere by 160,000 tons per year and nitrogen oxides (NOx) by 200 tons per year. It is estimated it would take 600,000 trees to remove the same amount of CO2 that will be displaced by the GreenChoice program during its initial 10-year mission.

Austin Energy and the City of Austin are already recognized for some of the most comprehensive and successful energy conservation programs in the nation. Since 1982, over 100,000 Austinites have used Austin Energy rebates or low-interest loans to make home energy improvements. Austin Energy’s Green Building program, which provides assistance to builders in the design of energy and resource-efficient and environmentally friendly homes, is the largest in the country in terms of the number of builders participating (58), the number of architects and designers (59) and the number of homes built (681 in FY 1999) with Green Builder features.

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For more information contact
Ed Clark: (512) 322-6514
Pager: (512) 613-0123.