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Austin, TX
October 8, 2009: Austin receives Recovery Act funding for Solar America Cities Special Project.
The Palmer Events Center photovoltaic (solar-electric) system is located on the shading canopy over the parking deck and serves as a publicly accessible demonstration of solar power.
Through its Solar America Cities partnership, the City of Austin strengthens its existing city-wide solar energy program. The city is enhancing local education curriculum and promoting its current activities. It is also pursuing two specific areas of technical study. One is to assess the potential for distributed renewable power within the city—that is, relatively small installations at a number of sites within the city that feed power to the grid. The second is to assess the potential for energy generation from renewable energy sources in west Texas that would serve Austin electricity customers.
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Austin Energy provides one of the highest rebates in the country to help residential and commercial customers install solar systems.
Austin City Hall uses solar power produced by the photovoltaic cells on the awning covering the stairs on the south-side plaza.
Students at O'Henry Middle School celebrate their new solar system made possible through Austin Energy's Solar for Schools Program
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Activities
Austin is pursuing a comprehensive strategy to transform the market for solar energy technologies, both locally and regionally. Austin plans to establish benchmarks for distributed and central (relatively large, power-plant scale) installations of solar energy to be integrated into the generation plan for the local utility, Austin Energy. The Austin Solar America City partnership will reduce information barriers that prevent participation in the city’s renewable energy and energy conservation programs. Austin will also increase public knowledge about solar energy by educating the city’s teachers and youth about the benefits of solar energy and by installing highly-visible solar systems.
- Install solar energy systems in local schools and develop curricular materials for local schools to accompany these systems.
- Work with local non-profits to promote and cross-market Austin Energy’s solar, energy efficiency and green building programs.
- Assess rooftop areas suitable for distributed solar energy development.
- Assess the potential for hybrid solar/wind installations in West Texas for central power generation.
Partners
- Austin Energy (Project Lead)
- City of Austin
- Clean Energy Associates
- Local School Districts
- State of Texas
- Texas Solar Energy Society
- University of Texas
Solar Curriculum Development and School Demonstration ProjectsAustin Energy will collaborate with the Austin Independent School District, the University of Texas, and Austin Community College to improve K-12 solar curriculum, install PV demonstration projects with educational components at area schools, and develop career pathways for Solar Engineers and Solar Technician certifications.
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