Austin Bets Big on Solar With New Projects

Austin is betting on solar power as it confronts a growing energy crunch, approving a slate of projects aimed at boosting local generation and cutting reliance on the broader ERCOT grid.

The City Council recently approved three proposals designed to expand that local capacity: a new solar facility on a closed city landfill, solar installations across city facilities and negotiations for up to 40 megawatts of battery storage in partnership with local manufacturer Base Power, Inc.

Austin Energy spokesperson Matt Mitchell said the initiatives would add about 78 megawatts of capacity — enough energy to power nearly 20,000 homes for a year — and the agreement with Base Power offers comparable value to the 100 megawatt Jupiter battery contract the council approved last July.

Mitchell said the utility was already 73% carbon-free last year, offsetting 65% of customer demand, and argued that expanding local generation helps stabilize costs by reducing the need to import power during extreme weather and peak demand.

The projects, approved unanimously last week, come as Austin Energy faces mounting pressure from rapid population growth and rising electricity demand, even as the city works toward its goal of 100% carbon-free energy by 2035. Part of that effort calls for exiting the Fayette Power Plant, a coal-fired plant about 70 miles southeast of Austin that currently provided about 10% of the city’s generation capacity.

Funding for the new solar initiatives will come from a mix of current and future budget allocations. The battery storage agreement is expected to cost about $4.08 million annually, while the solar installations on city facilities carry a five-year contract totaling $66.5 million. The landfill solar project is estimated at roughly $1.5 million per year.

Council members framed the investments as both a climate and reliability strategy.

Council Member Mike Siegel called each proposal a "path-breaking first," citing the city’s first solar array on a landfill, its first large-scale use of solar on municipal facilities and its first deal to deploy distributed battery storage across the community.

Council Member Ryan Alter said Thursday’s council initiatives are a long time coming and that environmental plans have been in the works since he first took office in 2023.

Council Member Marc Duchen said the projects would make Austin’s energy system "more resilient, more cost effective and more environmentally friendly."

Not all feedback was supportive. During public comment, resident Paul Robbins criticized the battery storage agreement, arguing there was insufficient public data demonstrating its value as Austin Energy raises rates.

"Every single line item in your budget is under a microscope," Robbins said. "This is no time to abandon fiscal caution."

Mitchell, the Austin Energy spokesperson, said the utility conducts extensive economic modeling on battery storage and other energy resources and noted that Austin Energy maintains the lowest residential bills among ERCOT utilities.