Austin Energy briefs RMC on solar portfolio, virtual power plant pilot and lost federal grants

Tim Harvey, director of Customer Renewable Solutions at Austin Energy, gave a wide-ranging briefing to the Resource Management Commission on the utility’s solar programs, program performance, and near-term pilots and policy issues.

Harvey said Austin Energy has supported local solar industry growth since the utility’s early programs and now counts roughly 189 megawatts of local solar on the distribution grid. He told commissioners the utility has provided more than $482 million in rebates for rebated projects over the program’s life and that the local contractor pool has grown from four vendors in the early 2000s to roughly 72 contractors today. Harvey said about 1,400 rebated customers and roughly 17,000 customers overall have solar at their premises.

Current programs and results - Community and shared solar: Austin Energy operates community solar projects (Palmer Event Center, La Loma, airport) and a shared-solar/multifamily pilot now in mainstream enrollment. Harvey said the community solar program is fully subscribed and the utility seeks a roughly 50/50 balance of market-rate and CAP (income-qualified) customers. - Commercial standard offer: Launched in January, the commercial standard-offer program pays third-party owners directly for community-solar host sites. Harvey said about 8.25 megawatts were under construction or about to begin construction and another ~15 megawatts were in the queue. - Annual installations: Fiscal-year 2025 was a record for Austin Energy’s rebate program, with about 18.8 megawatts installed versus roughly 16 megawatts the prior year.

Emerging pilots and customer programs - Virtual…