Mayor Lee Leffingwell promoted Project Energize, a proposed city initiative that would provide households with low-interest financing options for energy-efficiency modifications, on Tuesday.
To promote energy efficiency, the bill would allow the city to provide low-interest loans for homeowners interested in installing solar panels on their rooftops or taking any other clean-energy initiative. Homeowners could then pay off their loans over time through their property tax bill.
The proposed resolution — co-authored by Leffingwell, Mayor Pro Tem Mike Martinez and Councilwoman Randi Shade — will be voted on during Thursday’s City Council meeting, and until the item goes for a final vote, the mayor is trying to gather support for it. Tuesday’s event was the first time Martinez and Shade spoke in favor of the initiative.
“I really couldn’t be any more enthusiastic about the potential of this program,” Leffingwell said. “I firmly believe Project Energize can help propel the city of Austin to the very forefront of the renewable energy race over the long term while helping homeowners in very real and very immediate ways.”
Martinez said many homeowners cannot afford the out-of-pocket $10,000 it takes to install solar panels on their rooftops, and this provides them with an opportunity to do so.
Shade said the most exciting part of the project is it essentially eliminates the risk of investing in infrastructure for homeowners.
“There are lots of people who are interested in making energy upgrades but are reluctant to do so because they fear they won’t recoup the costs if they decide to sell the house,” Shade said. “Under Project Energize, the debt, the infrastructure, and the savings are all directly tied to the home. It’s simple, but it’s huge.”
State Rep. Mark Strama, D-Austin, said the city’s proposal creates a take-more-than-you-give scenario.
“[Homeowners will] pay more each year in their taxes, but they’ll pay less each year in their electricity bills,” he said. “So the savings should be greater than the cost annually.”
The initiative was made possible after the state legislature unanimously passed House Bill 1937 during the last session. The bill allows municipalities to create pools of money from low-interest, tax-free bonds to lend to homeowners who are making energy-improvement initiatives. Austin is one of the first cities to act on the bill.
Austin Energy spokesman Carlos Cordova said the energy company’s solar power rebate program, which pays part of the installation costs for homeowners purchasing solar panels, has grown tremendously in the last year. He said the demand for solar energy has increased, and that the number of solar power installers in the city has grown from four to 22 in a few years.
Strama said the program provides potential benefits for the University as well.
“Making Austin an early leader in the development of distributed solar power gives UT the ability to study its effectiveness and add to its research credentials in the area of solar power,” he said. “I would like to see the University of Texas be the national leader on issues related to renewable energy.”
