A. Alter Amendments to AE Resource, Generation & Climate Protection Plan to 2035

[Alison Alter]

Dear Colleagues,

I appreciate the robust and important conversation we are having to create the best possible 2035 Generation Plan. I fully support the amendments Council Member Ryan Alter posted earlier today on behalf of the four of us (R. Alter, A. Alter, C. Vela, and V. Fuentes). See that full post here - https://austincouncilforum.org/viewtopic.php?t=2056 and those amendments here - http://assets.austintexas.gov/austincou ... 101746.pdf.

I initiated the update to the Plan in 2022, and I am pleased that Council is able to consider these updates at the final Council Meeting of my term.

In my discussions with Austin Energy, the community, and my colleagues, I have identified a few additional places in the document where we can further strengthen and clarify language to better achieve our shared goals.

Therefore, I am proposing four additional amendments outlined in the linked document and covering a range of elements related to our commitment to 100% carbon-free energy, local air quality and nonattainment, siting of city-owned solar, and emissions guardrails:
http://assets.austintexas.gov/austincou ... 111452.pdf

In our discussions over the next few days, it is my hope that we can further refine our approach to move toward carbon intensity standards or a specific set of emissions guardrails for our portfolio. This was outlined by Dr. Webber as a key outcome standard we could rely on and is the subject of our amendment 2 and the mayor’s amendment. We ultimately may need multiple measures so we can take a truly holistic approach to emissions in our community and recognize that further electrification of vehicles and buildings can reduce emissions, but will require further megawatts.

I hope we can also have discussions about establishing clear battery storage goals.

Thanks,
Council Member Alison Alter