Dive Brief:
- The Austin, Texas City Council is taking advantage of a drop in power prices and surplus of wind generation in the state to boost its wind portfolio to 1,225 megawatts.
- The deal puts municipal utility Austin Energy four years ahead of its goal of 35% renewables by 2020. Currently, the muni gets 27% of its power from renewables,
- The city signed two contracts for 200 megawatts each with Duke Energy Renewables and one with E.ON Climate and Renewables North America for 170 megawatts. All three projects will be online between the end of 2014 and mid-2016.
Dive Insight:
At a price of between $23 and $33 per megawatt-hour, the muni said the contracts, with terms up to 25 years, offer power at rates that are competitive with natural gas-fired generation.