After navigating the summer’s record temperatures, Austin Energy is shifting gears, preparing an update to its Resource Generation Plan for the first time since committing to total carbon neutrality by 2035. The 2030 Plan, which launched in 2020 as Covid-19 shook the globe, charts a course for the utility as it aims to transition entirely […]
Fayette Power Plant
The coal-fired power plant co-owned by the City of Austin and the Lower Colorado River Authority.
Posted inEnergy
Environmental advocates say Fayette coal plant is ‘poisoning’ residents, push city to test water
Danny Fetonte worked at a coal power plant decades ago in Pennsylvania. He was responsible for taking the lids off the ovens so more coal could be dropped in to run the generators. “Everybody that worked in it was black … because we were totally covered with coal ash,” he told KUT in April. Fetonte […]
Posted inEnergy
An update on the Fayette Power Plant reveals no news, inspires working group
Almost five years ago, Council recommended that Austin Energy retire its portion of the Fayette Power Plant, which is run on coal, by 2022. Despite intense pressure from environmentalists to move that date up, the city utility is sticking to their plans for retirement on that date. However, the path forward toward retirement remains clear. […]
Posted inEnvironment, Local Politics, Resources
Riley proposes goal of net zero greenhouse gas emissions by 2050
A resolution set for approval by Austin City Council members today would set a goal “of reaching net zero communitywide greenhouse gas emissions by 2050” – sooner if possible. The document, brought forward by Council Members Chris Riley and Bill Spelman and Mayor Pro Tem Sheryl Cole, lays out a path to the establishment of […]
Posted inResources
Austin Energy backs retiring city’s share of Fayette plant in 2025
Shifting position on the Fayette Power Project, Austin Energy has recommended retiring, rather than selling, its share of the controversial coal-burning plant. The recommendation calls for the city to establish a shut-down date of 2025, nearly a decade later than environmentalists are seeking. The additional time would help avoid potentially difficult legal, regulatory and […]
Posted inResources, Uncategorized
Memo cites major legal hurdles for city to get out of coal plant
The City of Austin faces formidable legal hurdles and potentially significant costs if the City Council decides to sell or shut down the city’s share of the coal-fired Fayette Power Project, according to a new city Law Department memo. Potential problems arise from the city’s participation agreement with the Lower Colorado River Authority on […]