Austin Energy says building a new natural gas plant will help meet Austin's energy needs. Members of a citizen oversight group say the utility is shirking its duty to reduce emissions and city climate goals.
Austin Energy's proposal to build a natural gas plant that it said could eventually convert to use hydrogen fuel was rejected by the Resource Generation Plan Working Group over air pollution and water usage concerns.
The Resource Generation Plan Working Group on Monday rejected the idea of building the natural gas power plant, citing concerns over air pollution and water usage. “Our main concern is — Is it going to be available at the cost? And — What are the impacts on local air pollution?” Electric Utility Commissioner Cyrus Reed said. “The working group felt that betting on that technology today in 2024 may not be a wise decision.”
The Resource Generation Plan Working Group was skeptical. It concluded that the technology used to generate power through green hydrogen is too costly. The technology requires a reliable supply of renewable energy and has a high demand for water supply. A hydrogen combustion pipeline can also lead to higher levels of nitrogen oxide air pollution compared to natural gas, according toAustin already exceeds federal ozone levels, utility commission member Kaiba White pointed out during the meeting.
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