Nice.
Houston has received $2 million from the U.S. Department of Energy to advance its sustainable energy goals, which Mayor John Whitmire has yet to define for his new administration.
The department announced Wednesday that it has selected the city of Houston as one of 27 local governments to receive energy grants totaling $27 million. Port Arthur and Temple are the only other two Texas cities on the list. The two smaller towns secured more moderate amounts of $118,760 and $140,420, respectively.
The $2 million was allocated to Houston to support four key green energy initiatives: installing solar panels and battery storage at a municipal facility, upgrading municipal buildings to lower energy consumption, creating a loan fund for sustainability projects and revising energy codes to enhance efficiency in future developments.
“Energy efficient upgrades are a surefire way to bring down costs and shore up resiliency for communities across the nation,” Secretary of Energy Jennifer Granholm said in a Wednesday statement. “President Biden’s Investing in America agenda is equipping local governments with funds to transform clean energy plans into real actions.”
The goal of the award is to help Houston advance its existing Climate Action Plan, according to the announcement. The plan, unveiled by former Mayor Sylvester Turner in 2020, consists of a series of long-range goals to curb greenhouse gas emissions and combat the adverse effects of climate change.
[…]
Mary Benton, the mayor’s spokeswoman, on Thursday said the administration is excited to have more resources to advance Houston’s current goal of reducing greenhouse gas emissions by 2050. The city’s Climate Action Plan and Resilience Plan are scheduled to be revised in 2025, Benton said.
This was from earlier in May. It appears to be from a different pot of money than the Solar for All grant that Harris County got. Which is good, the more of this there is the better. We’ll see what this Mayor’s plans are for the Climate Action Plan. At least he didn’t feel the need to put it under immediate review.
Re: “The goal of the award is to help Houston advance its existing Climate Action Plan, according to the announcement. The plan, unveiled by former Mayor Sylvester Turner in 2020, consists of a series of long-range goals to curb greenhouse gas emissions and combat the adverse effects of climate change.”
Uh oh… Sylvester Turner announced the plan ? Que John Whitmire to shit can the plan(s) in 3, 2, 1…