RENEWABLE ENERGY PROGRAMS
GreenChoice® Renewable Wind Energy
Photo: National Renewable Energy Laboratory
GreenChoice® offers customers who own or rent the opportunity to choose 100% renewable Texas wind energy, which helps burn less coal and gas to meet energy needs. That means cleaner air, more “green” jobs created and more water saved.
Whether you live in house or apartment, or run a business in the Austin-area, you can subscribe to GreenChoice to do something good for Austin and the environment. All GreenChoice products are Green-e® Energy Certified and meet the minimum environmental and consumer protection standards established by the non-profit Center for Resource Solutions.
Find out more at austinenergy.com/go/greenchoice and join the GreenChoice community of like-minded customers who care about keeping Austin sustainable by signing up for 100% wind energy. Customers can call (512) 494-9400 to choose this renewable energy option.
Austin Energy’s Community Solar
Interested in going solar but can’t because you rent or your home is too shaded? Now it’s easy to choose 100% locally generated solar energy with Austin Energy’s Community Solar program.
Beginning January 2017, Austin Energy residential customers have the option to go solar and meet 100% of their energy needs with energy supplied from local Community Solar projects. This is an opportunity to support clean energy that is being generated here, is transmitted here, and stays here in Austin.
How Is Community Solar Energy Different from Conventional Sources of Energy?
Currently, Austin Energy residential customers pay a seasonally adjusted Power Supply Adjustment (PSA) rate on their monthly utility bills. The PSA covers utility costs associated with a blended power supply.
Under the Community Solar program, subscribers no longer pay the seasonally adjusted PSA and instead pay a fixed Community Solar Adjustment (CSA) rate specific to costs associated with providing clean, local, solar energy.
At $0.0427/kwh the CSA will add an extra $10 -$19 to the average subscriber’s monthly energy bill. The CSA rate will be fixed for 15 years, providing customers with an opportunity to save money if the PSA rate should rise above $0.0427/kWh. In 2019, the normal seasonally-adjusted PSA rate is $0.02825/kwh.
Community Solar energy will be generated at locally-sited community solar projects beginning with the solar array located at the Palmer Events Center. Solar energy generated at the Kingsbery Community Solar Project located near Airport Boulevard and Springdale Boulevard should be available in the fall of 2017.
Going solar has never been so simple. There is no contract or subscriber fee. You can cancel your subscription anytime.
This is your chance to support Austin’s local solar movement and the environment, and to be one of the first to make locally-generated community solar power your energy choice.
For more information, visit austinenergy.com/go/communitysolar.
Solar Incentive Program
With plentiful Texas sun, Austin Energy customers find a clean, quiet and reliable way of generating electricity at home with an on-site photovoltaic (PV) system. Austin Energy’s solar incentive program encourages residents to purchase and install solar systems by reducing the upfront cost to go solar. Thousands of systems in Austin serve various types of customers including residential, commercial, multifamily and nonprofits. With the cost of solar decreasing significantly in the last decade, the average payback after incentives is now about 10 to 15 years. Most solar panels have 25-year production warranties, meaning solar owners get about 15 years of “free” energy after recouping the initial investment.
Solar roofs at Mueller Airport redevelopment
Any customer with an on-site PV system (owned or leased) interconnected to an Austin Energy residential meter will benefit from the Residential Solar Rate. These customers receive a Value of Solar credit on their bill each month for every kilowatt-hour of solar energy produced by their system. The solar customer will be billed for the total energy use of their home under the residential five-tier rate structure, and then that bill will be reduced by their Value of Solar credits. The Value of Solar rate is evaluated and adopted by Austin City Council periodically.
Most residential rooftop solar installations range in size between 4 and 8 kW. Panels can be installed on roofs, poles, or on the ground. A 6 kW PV system installation typically consists of 20-30 panels, generating around 8,400 kWh in an average year. A shaded roof does not qualify for rebates. Other limiting factors include the age of the roof, orientation of the home and deed restrictions in your area. Projects must be installed by a participating contractor.
For up-to-date information on solar contractors, incentive levels, and program requirements, visit austinenergy.com/go/solar or call (512) 482-5346.
Note: Solar incentive funding is limited and available only to Austin Energy customers on a first-come, first-served basis. Offerings are subject to change without notice.
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