On Sunday, September 23, 2012, the Austin American Statesman published an article by Marty Toohey titled "If Austin sheds its coal power, would the city's carbon footprint shrink?" This article is important to look at because it affects all of us who live in Austin.
The article deals with the question of whether or not to sell Austin's share of the Fayette power plant, which is coal-fired and provides about one-third of the city's power, and use the proceeds to invest in natural gas instead. Steve Smaha, a tech investor and member of the advisory panel, says that while natural gas creates about half as many greenhouse gases as coal, it could actually result in significantly more carbon being emitted into the atmosphere, which most scientists say contribute significantly to climate change. Also,Smaha thinks, if we do sell our share, the new owner of the share might burn more coal than Austin does, which would defeat the purpose of selling it in the first place.
Phillip Schmandt, chairman of Austin's Electric Utility Commission and energy lawyer, agrees with Smaha for the most part but thinks swapping coal for gas would eventually lead to reducing the amount of carbon dioxide in the future, which would be good to do. Schmandt wants to get away from coal because it is "the dirtiest resource out there."
Over the coming months, Austin Energy will be getting offers for the coal plant and searching for other replacement options such as natural gas or mixing natural gas with renewable resources instead of relying solely on natural gas, and the debates will probably intensify.
