Houston has obtained $2 million from the United States Department of Energy to advance sustainable vitality objectives, which Mayor John Whitmire has but to clarify for his new administration.
The federal division introduced Wednesday that it has chosen Houston as one in all 27 native governments to obtain vitality grants value $27 million. Port Arthur and Temple are the opposite two Texan cities on the checklist. The two smaller cities earned extra modest quantities of $118,760 and $140,420, respectively.
$2 million is allotted to Houston to help 4 key inexperienced vitality initiatives: putting in photo voltaic panels and battery storage at a municipal facility, upgrading municipal buildings to cut back consumption of vitality, create a mortgage fund for upkeep tasks and alter vitality codes to enhance effectivity sooner or later. developments.
“Energy effectivity enhancements are a certain technique to cut back prices and enhance resilience for communities throughout the nation,” US Energy Secretary Jennifer Granholm stated in a press release. on Wednesday. “President Biden’s Investing in America agenda equips native governments with the funds to show clear vitality plans into actual actions.”
The aim of the award is to assist Houston advance its present Climate Action Plan, based on the announcement. The plan, which was unveiled by former Mayor Sylvester Turner in 2020, accommodates a sequence of long-range objectives to stop greenhouse fuel emissions and fight the adversarial results of local weather change.
The new mayor has but to state his stance on Houston’s present local weather motion targets or his administration’s environmental objectives. His workplace lately stated Whitmire is within the means of reviewing all the town’s main tasks and priorities, however didn’t reply to a request Wednesday to touch upon the most recent grant.
Whitmire pledged to prioritize environmental justice throughout his mayoral marketing campaign final yr. He promised to make use of his a long time of expertise in Austin to work with state environmental regulators on points like unlawful dumping whereas being cautious to not alienate the vitality business.
In March, the mayor introduced the creation of a brand new City Council committee – the Resilience Committee – to look at Houston’s environmental insurance policies. Its first assembly is scheduled for subsequent Tuesday, the place officers are anticipated to supply an replace on the town’s Climate Action Plan and Resilience Plan.
