 "Photo: Edmarc Hedrick/The Daily Texan")
The Pecan Street Project, an organization which pushes for clean energy technology, is taking steps to make Austin a leading city in the green energy movement.
Members of the project said Austin could serve as a central location for green technological growth since the city owns its own municipal utility and they would not have to get federal government approval for each of their projects.
Although the new clean technology will pose major changes for energy providers, Jim Marston, Texas regional director of the Environmental Defense Fund, said companies would be prepared to make adjustments.
“The utility understands that change is coming, and we’re going to embrace it and figure out how to make it profitable,” Marston said.
Weston Sythoff, spokesman at the Capital Area Workforce Board, said the Pecan Street Project’s efforts would create new job opportunities in Austin.
“We participate on the Workforce Development Subcommittee, working to understand the types and numbers of jobs that will be created as a result of Austin’s growing green energy industry,” Sythoff said.
Isaac Barchas, associate director of UT’s Austin Technology Incubator, said that students can get involved in the movement by looking for opportunities with companies who focus on innovative green technology.
The Pecan Street Project hopes to develop clean technology infrastructure in Austin by 2020 with sites to plug in hybrid cars and clean energy power plants.
“It’s all a matter of timing more than anything,” Marston said. “Not all the rules are figured out yet.”
While the Pecan Street Project has several large corporations on board with its efforts, it hopes to continue gaining support for its energy plan through the cooperation of companies like the Bluebonnet Electric Cooperative. Marston said the team hopes Austin will serve as a model for other cities in Central Texas to further clean technology.
“This is the beginning of the process,” Marston said. “Of course clean tech is good for climate change, and we will be considered by the utility as part of the city’s comprehensive planning process in terms of zoning. This is an opportunity to do something really big on the environment while doing something big on the economy.”
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