Municipally owned Texas utilities Austin Energy and CPS Energy still have some of the most robust renewable energy profiles in the nation, according to a survey by the U.S. Energy Department’s National Renewable Energy Laboratory (NREL).
NREL’s annual Utility Green Power Leaders survey for 2012 ranks Austin second for total amount of renewable energy sold (744,443 megawatt hours), just behind Portland General Electric (834,125). San Antonio’s CPS Energy slipped in at the 10-spot, with 179,786 megawatt hours sold.
Neither placed among the top 10 utilities for share of customer participation or total number of renewable-energy customers, but Austin Energy ranked fourth for the total percentage of “green” power sold (6 percent). CPS Energy received notice (another 10-slot) for the price of its renewable power.
Compared with 2010 rates, both utilities slipped a notch or two, however. That year, Austin Energy was in first place and CPS was in eighth for total renewable energy sold.
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Top image is Austin Energy’s 30MW solar plant in Webberville, courtesy of Imagine Solar.
