STATEMENT: Environment Texas decries Fayette coal plant decision

Environment Texas

AUSTIN – Austin Energy announced yesterday that, after a failure to reach an agreement with LCRA, it was shelving plans to close its portion of the Fayette coal power plant it co-owns with the river authority. 
 
Environment Texas Executive Director released the following statement:
 
“For years I’ve counseled climate activists to trust that the city of Austin was doing everything it can to get out of the Fayette coal plant. But after yesterday’s announcement, I fear my trust was misplaced. The city council has declared a ‘climate emergency’ and committed to getting to zero emissions by 2040. Continued operation of the Fayette plant is incompatible with our goals and with a stable climate for future generations. Austin Energy needs to provide far more detail about what happened in the negotiations and what the city’s bottom line was. The unfortunate truth is that we may just need to eat a significant cost to get out of our contract, but the alternative of catastrophic climate change will cost far more.”