04 Nov Local Solar Strides Forward

Austin City Council took a good step forward for local solar last week by approving a resolution that ensures that at least half of our solar goal will be met with local solar projects. Half of these projects will be customer-owned or customer-leased.

City Council took action after considerable input from stakeholders, including many Solar Austin supporters. While we didn't get everything we wanted, policy was improved by this engagement.

Because customer-controlled solar will now be a bigger piece of the pie, we expect that Austin Energy will work to enhance and expand our programs, including better financing options. We hope that this commitment will keep Austin Energy from proposing premature cuts to the solar program, as they did this year.

The other piece of the resolution focused on expanding our overall solar goal. Council instructed the city manager to consider the 400 megawatt solar goal recommended by the Austin Local Solar Advisory Committee when updating the Generation Plan next year.

Let City Council know that you support expanding the city's solar goal.