Luke Metzger
Executive Director, Environment Texas
Statement on Houston renewable energy purchase
Media Contacts
Environment Texas
AUSTIN – Today, Houston Mayor Annise Parker announced an agreement to increase the city’s purchase of renewable energy to cover half of municipal electric demand. The purchase makes Houston the largest purchaser of renewable energy in the nation.
“From promoting electric vehicles to adopting some of the strongest energy efficiency standards in the country, Houston is a rising star among clean energy cities,” said Environment Texas Director Luke Metzger. “Today’s announcement puts even more wind behind the sails of Houston’s move to transition to a clean energy economy.”
A November 2011 report by Environment Texas Research and Policy Center calculated that by 2030, improvements in energy efficiency and expanded solar power in the Houston metro area could reduce demand for electricity from fossil fuel sources by enough to power 627,000 Houston homes, while expanded deployment of electric vehicles would avoid consumption of more than 104 million gallons of gasoline annually.
