Mayor: City should slow renewable energy plan if its not affordable. Council again asks Austin Energy to devise cost cap.
Texas Insider Report: AUSTIN Texas In a significant & much bally-hooed reversal of trying to become one of Americas leading Green Cities Austin Mayor Lee Leffingwell recently announced the city should slow its aggressive renewable energy plan if it cannot be carried out affordably. Austins targeted goal of getting 35 of its electricity from wind solar & other renewables by 2020 up from 10 now had been met with concerns from virtually all of the citys major businesses & jobs providers.
Renewable advocates say such a shift can be carried out affordably; skeptics say the city should have strict spending limits.
During a City Council meeting Leffingwell said he supports a long-term cap on electricity costs for instance by limiting rate increases to 2 a year even if it means slowing investment in renewable energy.
We have three goals meeting the 35 renewables target doing so by 2020 and doing so affordably and if they become incompatible the one that has to slip is
2020 Leffingwell said.
That would be one of the countrys most aggressive shifts away from sources of electricity that emit greenhouse gases.
Businesses and some environmentals have called for a cost cap or formal pledge to keep Austin Energy among the states most affordable electric providers.
Austin Energy General Manager Larry Weis had resisted a City
Council directive to craft a cost cap saying he may be unable to operate under an annual limit and make significant renewable investments.
We may be able to do both he has said but we cant start out assuming thatll be the case.
On Thursday the council directed Weis to devise a cap anyway.
A promise to limit spending Leffingwell said doesnt seem to have much effect unless we set it out there ... formally as a goal.
