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is also quickly becoming an important By moving to a renewable-based energy platform, the City of Georgetown has been
contributor to our national energy needs. able to lock down energy cost savings for the next 20 years.
Texas is the largest producer of wind tur-
bine energy, generating 21% of the nation’s produced from renewable energy resources City Texas, declaring, “I think this is
total production. With the costs of utility such as solar, wind, water and biomass great, as long as I don’t have to pay more
PV and wind turbine installations being (wood, paper, garbage and so forth). because it is a different energy source.”
nearly the same on a MW-to-MW basis,
continued robust growth is expected. These options are regarded as producing Numerous businesses are becoming aware
less waste and requiring fewer non-renew- of Georgetown’s new energy plan and have
Power plants using fossil fuels are under able resources than traditional sources, expressed interest and enthusiasm, in-
a great deal of scrutiny for many reasons. though the methodology, efficiency and cluding the Sun City Texas Community
Change is difficult, and as a society we environmental impact of each varies. Bio- Association. When asked about George-
will address and eventually resolve the mass, for example, does not require min- town’s shift to renewable energy, Direc-
issues. A 2014 Harvard Medical School ing or drilling for nonrenewable resources, tor of Finance Ann Dodson replied, “The
study titled, “New Harvard Study Exam- but it does produce air polluting emissions Community Association spent just under
ines the Cost of Coal” estimates the U.S. at levels similar to coal and natural gas. $650,000 for electricity in 2015 and will
health cost of continued fossil fuel usage Solar and wind are considered the “clean- spend just over $675,000 in 2016. I think
to be between $300-$500 billion annually, est” of our energy producers, as they gen- it is truly amazing to have fees for a por-
between $1,000-1,500 per capita. This cost erate no pollution. tion of an expenditure of that magnitude
is only from the actual power generation locked for 20 years. Hats off to the City
and does not include the health costs and Perhaps one of the greatest advantages to of Georgetown for their efforts!”
safety issues associated with the mining renewable energy is the cost. According to
and transportation of coal. Chris Foster, Manager of Resource Plan- This fixed price will also be an important
ning and Integration for the Georgetown factor in attracting new businesses, bring-
Nuclear also has its problems. The cost Utility Systems, “The largest portion of ing new jobs for our increasing popula-
of building a nuclear power plant is ap- the kWh charge – 75 percent - will remain tion. Electrical energy can be a significant
proaching $10 billion. Public objection, unchanged for at least the next 20 years,” portion of the operating costs for many
lengthy times for permits and licenses, leaving only the base charge and a small businesses. Residential housing builders
rising construction costs, annual main- portion of the kWh charge susceptible to are also keenly interested, such as Sus-
tenance and the expenses involved in the minimal inflation and regulatory costs. It tainable Holdings, Inc., an Austin-based
removal and storage of nuclear waste have is doubtful one could find anything else company which has been in discussions
resulted in the suspension or placing on guaranteed to cost the same 20 years with the city regarding a potential resi-
indefinite hold nearly all new or upgrading from now. dential and commercial complex. Such
projects in the U.S. a complex would be the first energy ef-
The fixed price has garnered much appre- ficient development of its kind, ensuring
Now, to be clear, there is no such energy ciation from members of the community. national, if not international, recognition
as truly 100 percent “clean.” Even PV pan- Neighborhood 48 resident Peter Katsafa- for the city’s innovative initiatives.
els and wind turbines must be manufac- nas echoed the thoughts of many in Sun
tured and transported to their installa- JANUARY 2017 SUNRAYS | 69
tion sites, which generates pollution. The
difference is in the amount of pollution
these resources create when compared to
other energy producing technologies. The
phrases “clean” or “green power” are sim-
ply popular terms used to describe energy
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