Get Ready, Snowflakes: Your Roof Is About to Get a Lot More Exciting!

Buckle up, Austin! The City Council is finally getting something right by voting on a proposed Solar Standard Offer program this month. And yes, even your roof is gonna love it.

Forget all that hippie talk about saving the planet. Rooftop solar is where it's at, folks. With lots of roofs and year-round sunshine, Austin is sitting on a goldmine of electricity without all that pesky fossil fuel nonsense. 🌞💰

Here’s the deal: The program will let solar companies lease your roof space to install solar panels. No more shelling out thousands or taking out loans. Austin Energy will buy the clean energy produced, and you get to sit back and let the solar companies do all the work. Win-win!

Austin Energy will pay 11.24 cents per kilowatt-hour for small systems and 8.41 cents for larger ones. That’s straight cash, people! And because Austin Energy is city-owned, their savings are our savings. 💸

Sure, homes and commercial buildings with solar panels might seem small-scale, but under this program, small-scale means big impact. Austin has a ton of rooftop solar potential just waiting to be tapped.

The program starts with larger commercial buildings, but by January 2026, it’ll expand to the residential sector. Cha-ching! Every vacant rooftop just became a money-maker. 💵

Now, let’s talk alternatives. Austin Energy could burn methane gas, hydrogen, ammonia, or biofuels, but who wants more greenhouse gas emissions and local air pollution? Austin's ground-level ozone and particulate matter levels are already over the U.S. EPA’s standards. We need this program or we’re facing a costly “noncompliance” EPA designation and health costs to residents and workers.

Paired with local batteries, rooftop solar could be the game-changer. Energy from the Solar Standard Offer program will also boost Austin Energy’s Community Solar program, which lets renters and others get solar-generated electricity without installing a system.

Customers can sign up for the Community Solar waiting list on the Austin Energy website.

So, whether you own property, want to subscribe to Community Solar, or just want to breathe clean air, the Solar Standard Offer program is something to get pumped about. 😎

Kaiba White is the climate policy and outreach specialist for the Texas office of Public Citizen.