City of Houston to be powered with 100% renewable energy

City of Houston to be powered with 100% renewable energy 

In April, 2020, The City of Houston announced a renewed deal with NRG Energy as the City’s retail electric provider, with a commitment to purchase 100% renewable energy. 
Under this contract, all municipal operations will be powered with renewable energy, which is anticipated to save $65 million over the seven-year contract. Through the contract with NRG ENERGY, every year the City will receive 1,034,399 MWh of renewable electricity from a new solar facility in Texas that is dedicated to providing power to city operations.

“This announcement is a shining example of how the Houston Climate Action Plan is already in motion. Expanding our renewable energy investment through our partnership with NRG helps us build a more sustainable city and save over $9 million per year on our electric bill. Together, we are leading by example and showing how to reduce emissions in the Energy Capital of the World,” said Mayor Sylvester Turner.

This is the City’s first step to implementing their recently-released Houston Climate Action Plan, which is a community-driven strategy to help Houston achieve carbon-neutrality by the year 2050. 

This plan identified a target of powering all Houston City operations with renewable energy by the year 2025. According to the US Environmental Protection Agency, the City of Houston is already the top municipal consumer of renewable energy in the US, and has a power purchase agreement for a 50MW solar facility in Alpine, TX.

“We are proud to support the City of Houston with renewable power. Our sustainable and more resilient future depends on collaborative action and partnerships like this, and the city is making a meaningful impact. Houstonians can take pride in the city’s transition to more efficient sources of energy and we look forward to offering our support, now and into the future.” said Mauricio Gutierrez, President & CEO, NRG Energy.

Under Houston's renewed partnership agreement with NRG, the City will begin purchasing 100% renewable energy in July, 2020 as part of a five-year contract with two one-year renewal options.

NRG will further support the Houston Climate Action Plan through energy efficiency funding, sustainability consulting support and an affinity program that helps Houston City employees get access to discounted renewable energy.