City staff outline multi-site plan to install solar on Austin facilities, warn of tightening federal deadlines

City staff told the Joint Sustainability Committee that they have begun site screening and financial modeling for a multi-site solar program across city facilities and are moving quickly to preserve federal tax credits that help make those projects viable.

The work responds to a council resolution passed in May directing staff to analyze city property and recommend solar generation opportunities, prioritizing general fund properties; to calculate annual energy cost savings and dedicate equivalent funding to environmentally beneficial projects; and to evaluate opportunities on properties owned or operated by other local governments within the Austin Energy load zone, staff said. "The work we're doing is in response to a council resolution that was passed in May, and council directed the city manager and staff to, to do a number of things," Rohan, a city staff member leading the project presentation, told commissioners.

Staff described a three-step approach: inventory and assess city facilities for solar potential (rooftops, parking lots and adjacent land); issue a multi-site request for proposals (RFP) and evaluate ownership models; then select proposals and build, including operations and maintenance. The city has hired the Rocky Mountain Institute…