news piece

Thought some of my Austin friends might be interested...

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The City of Austin, Texas, has announced it is playing
host to a nationwide competition and the prize is the
title of "Clean Energy Capital of the U.S."

The group Solar Austin pitched the idea of the contest
to the U.S. Department of Energy. The group received a
$45,000 grant to organize and host the contest. Their
website is:

http://www.solaraustin.org

I spoke with Solar Austin Co-Director Jane Pulaski
this morning (04 JAN 06), who told me the "rules" are
still under development by the Union of Concerned
Scientists, but she said they should be available by
the end of January. She promised to let me know whey
they are out, and I'll let this group know.

The contest is entitled, "Energy Freedom Challenge".
It is to be a race to see which city in the U.S. can
be the first to get 50 percent of its energy from
renewable sources like wind, solar, geo-thermal,
methane and biomass power by the year 2025.

Austin reports it now receives 5 percent of its energy
from either wind, solar or landfill methane power;
well short of hitting the 50 percent mark. How is
"your" city doing?