{"id":4384,"date":"2013-06-27T20:07:27","date_gmt":"2013-06-27T20:07:27","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/blogs.edf.org\/energyexchange\/?p=4384"},"modified":"2014-03-21T18:09:31","modified_gmt":"2014-03-21T18:09:31","slug":"energy-capital-of-the-nation-turns-to-clean-energy","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/blogs.edf.org\/energyexchange\/2013\/06\/27\/energy-capital-of-the-nation-turns-to-clean-energy\/","title":{"rendered":"Energy Capital Of The Nation Turns To Clean Energy"},"content":{"rendered":"

This commentary originally appeared on EDF’s Texas Clean Air Matters Blog<\/a><\/em><\/p>\n

\"\"Last week, the City of Houston announced<\/a> that it would increase its purchase of renewable electricity to cover half of its energy use. \u00a0The city will use almost 623,000 megawatt-hours of electricity from renewable sources per year\u2014equivalent to the energy used by 55,000 residential homes annually. \u00a0The purchase makes Houston the largest municipal buyer of renewable energy in the nation. \u00a0While Houston\u2019s latest renewable energy purchase may seem at odds with its reputation as an oil and gas hub, it\u2019s exactly the sort of common-sense decision we expect from a city that\u2019s touted as the energy capital of the nation.<\/p>\n

Houston is in good company among other Texas cities. The City of Austin already gets 100% of its electricity from renewable sources<\/a>. \u00a0To make the switch, the city leveraged Austin Energy\u2019s GreenChoice<\/a> program, one of the nation\u2019s most successful utility-sponsored and voluntary green-pricing programs. \u00a0The program is part of Austin\u2019s Climate Protection Plan<\/a>, which establishes a 35 % renewable portfolio goal for Austin Energy by 2020. \u00a0In San Antonio, the municipally owned CPS Energy has emerged as a leader in clean energy. Through its New Energy Economy<\/a> initiative, CPS Energy is growing its network of smart meters<\/a> and expanding its installed solar capacity, among many other sustainable initiatives.<\/a> \u00a0Today, CPS Energy uses more solar energy than any other Texas utility, while still having the lowest electric rates among the top 10 largest cities in the United States.<\/p>\n

Beyond its latest renewable energy purchase, Houston is home to a number of other clean energy efforts. \u00a0With funding from the U.S. Department of Energy<\/a>, the city is working to streamline and refine the solar permitting process. \u00a0On top of that, the city actively supported SB 385 (Property Assessed Clean Energy Act)<\/a>, which helps break down barriers to financing water and energy conservation efforts. Houston is also exploring how innovative energy technologies can help shield residents from extreme weather events. \u00a0The city used grant funding to install 17 emergency solar-powered generation units<\/a> at fire stations, parks, neighborhood centers and schools. \u00a0All in all, Houston\u2019s progressive energy initiatives have helped reduce the city\u2019s building energy use by 30% and its emissions from municipal operations by 26 %.<\/p>\n

Earlier this week, President Obama\u2019s landmark climate speech<\/a> called on America to develop its potential for a clean, low-carbon economy that protects our children from the threat of air pollution and climate change. \u00a0What we\u2019re seeing in Houston and other Texas cities is indicative of a larger national movement toward common sense, clean energy<\/a> policies that cut harmful carbon pollution while driving innovation, cutting energy waste and energy bills, creating jobs and protecting public health. \u00a0With its latest renewable energy purchase, Houston shows us that it will continue its position as a leader in the new American energy economy.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

This commentary originally appeared on EDF’s Texas Clean Air Matters Blog Last week, the City of Houston announced that it would increase its purchase of renewable electricity to cover half of its energy use. \u00a0The city will use almost 623,000 megawatt-hours of electricity from renewable sources per year\u2014equivalent to the energy used by 55,000 residential …<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":3523,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_acf_changed":false,"footnotes":""},"categories":[439,254,1,177,181],"tags":[],"coauthors":[],"class_list":["post-4384","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-climate","category-energy-efficiency","category-uncategorized","category-renewable-energy","category-texas"],"acf":[],"yoast_head":"\nEnergy Capital Of The Nation Turns To Clean Energy - Energy Exchange<\/title>\n<meta name=\"robots\" content=\"index, follow, max-snippet:-1, max-image-preview:large, max-video-preview:-1\" \/>\n<link rel=\"canonical\" href=\"https:\/\/blogs.edf.org\/energyexchange\/2013\/06\/27\/energy-capital-of-the-nation-turns-to-clean-energy\/\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:locale\" content=\"en_US\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:type\" content=\"article\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:title\" content=\"Energy Capital Of The Nation Turns To Clean Energy - Energy Exchange\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:description\" content=\"This commentary originally appeared on EDF’s Texas Clean Air Matters Blog Last week, the City of Houston announced that it would increase its purchase of renewable electricity to cover half of its energy use. \u00a0The city will use almost 623,000 megawatt-hours of electricity from renewable sources per year\u2014equivalent to the energy used by 55,000 residential ...\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:url\" content=\"https:\/\/blogs.edf.org\/energyexchange\/2013\/06\/27\/energy-capital-of-the-nation-turns-to-clean-energy\/\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:site_name\" content=\"Energy Exchange\" \/>\n<meta property=\"article:published_time\" content=\"2013-06-27T20:07:27+00:00\" \/>\n<meta property=\"article:modified_time\" content=\"2014-03-21T18:09:31+00:00\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:image\" content=\"http:\/\/blogs.edf.org\/texascleanairmatters\/files\/2013\/06\/elena-craft1-228x300.jpg\" \/>\n<meta name=\"author\" content=\"Elena Craft, PhD\" \/>\n<meta name=\"twitter:card\" content=\"summary_large_image\" \/>\n<meta name=\"twitter:label1\" content=\"Written by\" \/>\n\t<meta name=\"twitter:data1\" content=\"Elena Craft, PhD\" \/>\n\t<meta name=\"twitter:label2\" content=\"Est. reading time\" \/>\n\t<meta name=\"twitter:data2\" content=\"2 minutes\" \/>\n<script type=\"application\/ld+json\" class=\"yoast-schema-graph\">{\"@context\":\"https:\\\/\\\/schema.org\",\"@graph\":[{\"@type\":\"Article\",\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/blogs.edf.org\\\/energyexchange\\\/2013\\\/06\\\/27\\\/energy-capital-of-the-nation-turns-to-clean-energy\\\/#article\",\"isPartOf\":{\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/blogs.edf.org\\\/energyexchange\\\/2013\\\/06\\\/27\\\/energy-capital-of-the-nation-turns-to-clean-energy\\\/\"},\"author\":{\"name\":\"Elena Craft, PhD\",\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/blogs.edf.org\\\/energyexchange\\\/#\\\/schema\\\/person\\\/e6ad7a9a9f50a4a5ae2e408099e5c41e\"},\"headline\":\"Energy Capital Of The Nation Turns To Clean Energy\",\"datePublished\":\"2013-06-27T20:07:27+00:00\",\"dateModified\":\"2014-03-21T18:09:31+00:00\",\"mainEntityOfPage\":{\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/blogs.edf.org\\\/energyexchange\\\/2013\\\/06\\\/27\\\/energy-capital-of-the-nation-turns-to-clean-energy\\\/\"},\"wordCount\":483,\"commentCount\":1,\"image\":{\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/blogs.edf.org\\\/energyexchange\\\/2013\\\/06\\\/27\\\/energy-capital-of-the-nation-turns-to-clean-energy\\\/#primaryimage\"},\"thumbnailUrl\":\"http:\\\/\\\/blogs.edf.org\\\/texascleanairmatters\\\/files\\\/2013\\\/06\\\/elena-craft1-228x300.jpg\",\"articleSection\":[\"Climate\",\"Energy Efficiency\",\"General\",\"Renewable Energy\",\"Texas\"],\"inLanguage\":\"en-US\",\"potentialAction\":[{\"@type\":\"CommentAction\",\"name\":\"Comment\",\"target\":[\"https:\\\/\\\/blogs.edf.org\\\/energyexchange\\\/2013\\\/06\\\/27\\\/energy-capital-of-the-nation-turns-to-clean-energy\\\/#respond\"]}]},{\"@type\":\"WebPage\",\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/blogs.edf.org\\\/energyexchange\\\/2013\\\/06\\\/27\\\/energy-capital-of-the-nation-turns-to-clean-energy\\\/\",\"url\":\"https:\\\/\\\/blogs.edf.org\\\/energyexchange\\\/2013\\\/06\\\/27\\\/energy-capital-of-the-nation-turns-to-clean-energy\\\/\",\"name\":\"Energy Capital Of The Nation Turns To Clean Energy - 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