In Georgetown’s four-year-long process to become the largest U.S. city to purchase all of its energy needs from renewable sources, Mayor Dale Ross said the city had two major goals in mind: eliminate price volatility and seek minimal regulation.
“This is a long-term pocketbook issue,” Ross said. “It’s a win for economics and a win for the environment.”
The city’s shift to renewables is primarily focused on financial benefits. But the change has brought national and international attention to Georgetown at the same time that Texas, which is heavily fueled and funded by its oil and gas industries, is now the fifth leading state in renewable energy growth since 2008, according to a July report from the Environment Texas Research & Policy Center. The report ranks Texas first in wind and fifth in solar electricity growth between 2008-17.
“It shows that if you incentivize clean energy, the community values that and chooses that,” said Bay Scoggin, energy associate for the Environment Texas Research & Policy Center.
