Austin could soon see more rooftop solar power systems on public buildings

If you thought the city of Austin already had a program to install rooftop solar systems on its municipal buildings, you weren’t alone. Many others believed the same, according to Kaiba White of Public Citizen’s Texas office. ‘I don’t know anybody who thinks it’s a bad idea,’ she added, summing up the results of solar advocates’ efforts to build support for expanding on-site solar projects at city-owned facilities.

With the backing of Public Citizen and other local organizations, the City Council last week passed a measure directing city staff to make recommendations for maximizing solar installations on municipal buildings, parking lots and open spaces. The resolution further directs staff to explore opportunities for expanding this endeavor to public buildings under other jurisdictions within the Austin Energy load zone.

“We have millions of square feet of rooftop space between our facilities and school district facilities that are empty,” said Council Member Ryan Alter, sponsor of the resolution. By filling those empty spaces with solar systems, he added, the city could “create and generate cheap, clean electricity, which not only helps stabilize our grid but saves money for ratepayers.”

The resolution is part of a series of actions the Council has taken to help achieve net-zero greenhouse gas emissions by 2040, which includes generating 245 megawatts of solar energy over the next 10 years, as outlined in the Austin Climate Equity Plan. Co-sponsors of the measure included Council Members José Velásquez, Chito Vela, Mike Siegel and Mayor Pro Tem Vanessa Fuentes.

Without out explicit direction from Council, it’s unclear whether funding for this effort will be included in the city manager’s proposed 2025-2026 budget, to be presented in July and amended and adopted by Council in August.

The resolution cites the city of San Antonio as an example of a peer city that has implemented on-site solar projects at city-owned facilities.

A representative of the Texas Climate Jobs Project, speaking in support of the solar measure, said the organization conducted an analysis of 104 city-owned buildings to gauge the benefits of solar power systems installed at city facilities. The report will be made available in the coming months, the representative said, noting that early results show a savings of between $2.2 million and $4.3 million in utility costs.

Public Citizen’s Kaiba White told the Council that the city’s Office of Climate Action and Resilience had also conducted a similar study of rooftop solar on city buildings. City staff, White said in a separate statement, “determined that 10 megawatts of solar could be installed on city buildings – enough to power 2,000 homes – requiring a $14 million investment that would pay for itself in as little as six years.”

Austin representatives from the International Brotherhood of Electrical Workers and the Laborers’ International Union of North America also backed the resolution, which, if implemented, could mean higher wages for local solar installers. The Alter measure cites a 2024 report from the Texas Climate Jobs Project indicating that Central Texas solar installers are paid a median wage of $21 per hour – less than wages paid under Austin’s living wage policy and far less than union electricians.

The city manager is expected to provide a preliminary progress report to Council by Sept. 2.

Photo made available through a Creative Commons license.

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