What's New
On Feb. 22, Mayor Leffingwell will convene a town hall meeting to consider proposed improvements to Austin Energy's clean energy plan. The public is invited to come to the Palmer Events Center from 6 to 8 PM to hear from a panel of experts and to share their thoughts with the City Council.
Two years ago, Austin Energy launched an unprecedented public input process on the future of Austin's energy supply. They took thousands of public comments, engaged the environmental, business and low-income communities, and ultimately presented a bold plan for clean energy that was unanimously endorsed by three city commissions and task forces.
The plan would double the city's solar goal, boost our energy efficiency, and cut use of dirty coal by almost one-third. If adopted by the City Council, it would be one of the greenest electricity plans of any utility in the country.
Learn more at Clean Energy for Austin.
How You Can Help
Please e-mail the Austin City Council and ask them to approve the Austin Energy generation plan with task force recommendations.
Brief Summary
Coal-fired power threatens our health and environment
Austin prides itself on being one of the greenest cities in America, but we still get one-third of our electricity from dirty coal. Pollution from coal-fired power plants causes asthma attacks, contaminates our water and contributes to global warming.
- In 2002, Austin's Fayette coal-fired power plant emitted more than 12 million tons of global warming pollution.
- According to researchers at the Harvard School of Public Health, pollution from the Fayette power plant is linked to 44 deaths every year.
Austin can lead the switch to a clean energy future
We have the technology to end our dependence on coal and switch to clean energy from the wind and sun. If their plans are approved by City Council, Austin Energy would reduce use of coal by one-third in the coming decade and come up with a plan to completely eliminate coal use.
Today, Austin has the opportunity to break our dependence on fossil fuels. We can switch to renewable energy, creating thousands of high-tech jobs in a clean energy economy, and protecting our health and the environment for future generations.
