Austin Energy's "Generation and CO2 plan" will be up for a vote in the city council this spring. Key issues in the plan include:
· Replacing a portion of the electricity generated by the coal-fired power plant in Fayette County with renewable energy from solar, wind, and biomass power.
· Increasing Austin's portfolio of renewable energy from 11 percent (current) to 30 percent by 2020.
· Increase electric bills by 22 percent over the next ten years.
According to the Austin American-Statesman, Roger Duncan, general manager of Austin Energy, has said that the energy-generation proposal would raise bills and that the utility could have suggested cheaper alternatives. But doing so, he said, would either sacrifice some environmental benefits or expose the system to blackout risks.
Austin Mayor Lee Leffingwell's office is planning a town-hall-style public forum in late February, with a final vote on Austin Energy's proposed plan coming about a month later.
Tuesday, January 26, 2010
Thursday, January 21, 2010
Public Meeting on Search for New Austin Energy Chief
On Monday, January 25, the City of Austin is holding a public information session where citizens can offer input and participate in the recruitment process for Austin Energy's new general manager. Residents can meet with city staff and representatives from the search firm Mycoff, Fry and Prouse and will have the opportunity to voice their opinion on the future direction of Austin Energy.
The meeting will take place from 5:00 PM to 8:00 PM at the Austin Energy Workforce Planning and Development Office at 811 Barton Springs Road, Suite 100. Free parking is available nearby at the Austin Energy Town Lake Center Garage at 721 Barton Springs Road.
The meeting will take place from 5:00 PM to 8:00 PM at the Austin Energy Workforce Planning and Development Office at 811 Barton Springs Road, Suite 100. Free parking is available nearby at the Austin Energy Town Lake Center Garage at 721 Barton Springs Road.
Wednesday, January 20, 2010
Austin Energy Now Offers Carbon Calculator
Austin Energy is now offering a carbon footprint calculator on their website http://coolaustin.org/co2_footprint.htm. This free carbon calculator can add up all of the carbon emissions that are a direct result of your actions, from driving, eating, using energy at home, garbage waste, etc.
City officials hope that the calculator will make residents more aware of their energy consumption and take action to change their daily habits in an effort to conserve energy. Reducing overall energy consumption, especially during peak demand hours, will help keep electricity rates low and remove the need to build new power plants to keep up with the growing population.
City officials hope that the calculator will make residents more aware of their energy consumption and take action to change their daily habits in an effort to conserve energy. Reducing overall energy consumption, especially during peak demand hours, will help keep electricity rates low and remove the need to build new power plants to keep up with the growing population.
Tuesday, January 19, 2010
Southwestern University Goes Green with Wind Power
Last week, Southwestern University signed an agreement with the City of Georgetown and AEP Energy Partners to receive 100 percent of the university's electricity for the next 18 years from West Texas wind farms. For the university, this is a major step towards their goal of becoming completely carbon-neutral. Southwestern is the first university in Texas and one of only five universities across the country to receive all of its electricity from renewable sources. The university hopes that this investment will pay off within the three to five years as standard electricity rates are expected to increase.
For more information, visit Southwestern University.
For more information, visit Southwestern University.
Wednesday, January 13, 2010
10 Energy Efficiency Myths
With all of the buzz and hype surrounding energy efficiency these days, there is a lot of incorrect information floating around. The following list will hopefully clear up some of the energy efficiency rumors out there. For even more myths, visit http://hes.lbl.gov/hes/myths.html
1. Switching to electric room heaters will reduce your energy bill.
This is true only under some circumstances. If you have central electric heating, the using room heaters will most likely save you money. But, if you have central gas heating (which is far cheaper per unit of useful heat) you can easily match or even exceed your heating bill by switching to electrical units.
2. Duct tape is good for sealing ducts.
Unfortunately, laboratory research has concluded that duct tape has very low durability when used to seal ducts. On new installations, tape may fall off due to poor surface preparation, because ducts are installed in dirty and dusty locations and conditions. On older systems, the tape falls off as it ages and the adhesive dries out and tends to wrinkle.
3. When my appliance is turned off, it's off.
In fact, we've found that most devices continue to consume power when they're switched off, sometimes as much power as when they're on!
4. Installing foam gaskets in electrical outlets will significantly reduce air leakage.
Measurements have shown that less than 1% of a home's air leakage is due to outlets.
5. Turning up (down) the thermostat will make your home get warm (cool) faster.
It's tempting to think of a thermostat like a water tap, i.e. the wider you open it the more water (heat/cool) will come out. In reality, it works more like a light switch in that if it's "on" the same amount of light (heat/cool) will come out.
6. Leaving lights, computers, and other appliances on uses less energy than turning them off and makes them last longer.
The small surge of power created when some devices are turned on is vastly smaller than the energy used by running the device when it's not needed. While it used to be the case that cycling appliances and lighting on and off drastically reduced their useful lifetimes, these problems have been largely overcome through better design.
7. Electric heating is more efficient than fuel-based heating.
It's true that all, or almost all, of the electricity that goes into an electric heater is transformed to useful heat in your home. However, making electricity is an inefficient process, with as much as two-thirds of the input energy (coal, natural gas, etc.) being lost in the process. This is why electricity is so much more expensive for the consumer than direct fuels.
8. Cleaning refrigerator coils saves energy.
While this seems intuitively logical, and very small savings may indeed arise, the few efforts to actually measure this effect have typically come up empty-handed. This is a classic example of a widely held belief based on assumptions rather than measurements.
9. Buying an efficient air conditioner or furnace will automatically reduce my energy bill.
This is true to some extent, but you won't realize all the possible savings if the equipment is not sized or installed properly. Studies have shown that typical air conditioner and duct systems are improperly installed, wasting 1/3 or more of the energy used by the air conditioner. New and replacement equipment (and ducts) need to be properly designed and installed to realize all the possible savings. The same caveats about proper installation hold true for insulation, windows and many other energy-efficiency upgrades.
10. Energy efficiency and energy conservation are one and the same thing.
Well-intentioned information campaigns during oil crises of the 1970s created a lot of confusion about how to save energy and even about how to talk about saving energy. Energy efficiency means getting a job done with less energy. This could be lighting a room, cooling a house, or refrigerating some vegetables. The things made possible by using energy are sometimes called "energy services," e.g. illumination, comfort, or food preservation. Energy conservation, on the other hand, means reducing the level of services, e.g. reducing lighting or comfort or turning up the temperature of your fridge. Reducing service levels (conservation) does not necessarily mean sacrifice, however. For example, many spaces have more than enough light by current-day standards, water heater temperature are set too high, etc. Consumers have the option of improving energy efficiency (e.g. by purchasing better appliances) and/or reducing service levels, but lowering the quality of life is not a prerequisite for reducing energy demand.
1. Switching to electric room heaters will reduce your energy bill.
This is true only under some circumstances. If you have central electric heating, the using room heaters will most likely save you money. But, if you have central gas heating (which is far cheaper per unit of useful heat) you can easily match or even exceed your heating bill by switching to electrical units.
2. Duct tape is good for sealing ducts.
Unfortunately, laboratory research has concluded that duct tape has very low durability when used to seal ducts. On new installations, tape may fall off due to poor surface preparation, because ducts are installed in dirty and dusty locations and conditions. On older systems, the tape falls off as it ages and the adhesive dries out and tends to wrinkle.
3. When my appliance is turned off, it's off.
In fact, we've found that most devices continue to consume power when they're switched off, sometimes as much power as when they're on!
4. Installing foam gaskets in electrical outlets will significantly reduce air leakage.
Measurements have shown that less than 1% of a home's air leakage is due to outlets.
5. Turning up (down) the thermostat will make your home get warm (cool) faster.
It's tempting to think of a thermostat like a water tap, i.e. the wider you open it the more water (heat/cool) will come out. In reality, it works more like a light switch in that if it's "on" the same amount of light (heat/cool) will come out.
6. Leaving lights, computers, and other appliances on uses less energy than turning them off and makes them last longer.
The small surge of power created when some devices are turned on is vastly smaller than the energy used by running the device when it's not needed. While it used to be the case that cycling appliances and lighting on and off drastically reduced their useful lifetimes, these problems have been largely overcome through better design.
7. Electric heating is more efficient than fuel-based heating.
It's true that all, or almost all, of the electricity that goes into an electric heater is transformed to useful heat in your home. However, making electricity is an inefficient process, with as much as two-thirds of the input energy (coal, natural gas, etc.) being lost in the process. This is why electricity is so much more expensive for the consumer than direct fuels.
8. Cleaning refrigerator coils saves energy.
While this seems intuitively logical, and very small savings may indeed arise, the few efforts to actually measure this effect have typically come up empty-handed. This is a classic example of a widely held belief based on assumptions rather than measurements.
9. Buying an efficient air conditioner or furnace will automatically reduce my energy bill.
This is true to some extent, but you won't realize all the possible savings if the equipment is not sized or installed properly. Studies have shown that typical air conditioner and duct systems are improperly installed, wasting 1/3 or more of the energy used by the air conditioner. New and replacement equipment (and ducts) need to be properly designed and installed to realize all the possible savings. The same caveats about proper installation hold true for insulation, windows and many other energy-efficiency upgrades.
10. Energy efficiency and energy conservation are one and the same thing.
Well-intentioned information campaigns during oil crises of the 1970s created a lot of confusion about how to save energy and even about how to talk about saving energy. Energy efficiency means getting a job done with less energy. This could be lighting a room, cooling a house, or refrigerating some vegetables. The things made possible by using energy are sometimes called "energy services," e.g. illumination, comfort, or food preservation. Energy conservation, on the other hand, means reducing the level of services, e.g. reducing lighting or comfort or turning up the temperature of your fridge. Reducing service levels (conservation) does not necessarily mean sacrifice, however. For example, many spaces have more than enough light by current-day standards, water heater temperature are set too high, etc. Consumers have the option of improving energy efficiency (e.g. by purchasing better appliances) and/or reducing service levels, but lowering the quality of life is not a prerequisite for reducing energy demand.
Thursday, January 7, 2010
City of Austin Gets $7.5 million for Energy Efficiency
On Monday, the U.S. Department of Energy announced that as a part of the American Recovery and Reinvestment Act, the City of Austin will receive $7.5 million to improve the energy efficiency of municipal buildings. Austin Energy will manage the funds and coordinate with other City departments to complete the work. The energy efficiency projects Austin Energy has identified could save more than 5 million kilowatt-hours of electricity annually, enough to power 400 homes year-round. The work involved in completing the projects will generate an estimated 100 green jobs and also reduce carbon and other emissions.
The energy efficiency projects include:
· Installation of interior lighting upgrades and lighting controls
· Replacement of two aged, biogas/diesel generators at the Hornsby Bend sludge treatment facility
· Retrofit of exterior lighting systems with new technologies
· Installation of a thermal energy storage system for AC units
· Increase insulation, seal ducts and make other energy improvements at older facilities
· Optimize performance of HVAC systems
For more information, view the Austin Energy press release.
The energy efficiency projects include:
· Installation of interior lighting upgrades and lighting controls
· Replacement of two aged, biogas/diesel generators at the Hornsby Bend sludge treatment facility
· Retrofit of exterior lighting systems with new technologies
· Installation of a thermal energy storage system for AC units
· Increase insulation, seal ducts and make other energy improvements at older facilities
· Optimize performance of HVAC systems
For more information, view the Austin Energy press release.
Tuesday, January 5, 2010
Get Paid to Ride The Bus?
On Tuesday, the Travis County Commissioner's Office reviewed a proposal by the Clean Air Force of Central Texas and the Environmental Defense Fund that would a create a program where employees in downtown Austin would be paid to ride a new "business class" bus. Such a program would be a joint-venture between the City of Austin, Travis County, Austin Energy and downtown businesses. The goal of the project is to reduce carbon emissions, reduce traffic, and free up more parking spaces in an already crowded downtown.
This new bus service would be modeled after successful projects implemented by major corporations such as Ebay, Google and Microsoft. Bus features could include tray tables, beverage and snack service, wireless internet, power outlets, and other features found in business class sections of trains and airplanes.
Under the program, downtown businesses would receive a pre-tax deduction for offering the bus service to its employees as part of their benefits package. Workers could receive up to $230 a month (tax-free) for commuting via the bus.
City and county officials will review the proposal and give a report in several weeks, but a pilot program could launch as soon as June 2010.
For related information, read this New York Times article about the Google shuttle service.
This new bus service would be modeled after successful projects implemented by major corporations such as Ebay, Google and Microsoft. Bus features could include tray tables, beverage and snack service, wireless internet, power outlets, and other features found in business class sections of trains and airplanes.
Under the program, downtown businesses would receive a pre-tax deduction for offering the bus service to its employees as part of their benefits package. Workers could receive up to $230 a month (tax-free) for commuting via the bus.
City and county officials will review the proposal and give a report in several weeks, but a pilot program could launch as soon as June 2010.
For related information, read this New York Times article about the Google shuttle service.
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