Probably not overall, but the City of Houston has made a historic commitment – to buy half its power from renewable sources.
Houston was built around the oil and gas industries and has long suffered the consequences of being home to many of the nation’s most polluting refining and chemical manufacturing facilities. Purchasing clean energy for the City’s facilities won’t change all that, but it does represent a significant change in mindset.
In the absence of federal legislation to address the increasingly pressing problem of climate change, local action has become essential. At the very least, the energy used in public buildings – that taxpayers pay for – should be clean energy. Houston is taking a huge step in that direction.
Wind energy is already one of the cheaper energy sources in Texas and solar energy is becoming competitive, especially as prices increase with higher energy demand. These trends will be helped by large-scale investments like the one Houston is making.
Moving away from energy from coal-fired power plants will also help keep jobs growing in Texas. Luckily, this isn’t an issue of jobs vs. the environment. It’s an easy choice of supporting both. Kudos to Houston to for recognizing an opportunity to take a leadership role.
Talk to your local elected officials about using clean energy to power your public buildings.
