Austin Mayor Lee Leffingwell declared the city the clean energy capital of the world at a reception for the Clean Energy Venture Summit 2011 at city hall Wednesday night.
The city’s goal is to have 35 percent of its energy come from renewable sources by 2020 and it’s well on its way to achieving that goal, he said.
In the last few weeks, the city has signed wind contracts that will put it at 30 percent of its energy coming from renewables by the end of next year, Leffingwell said.
Austin has a very mature high-tech industry that provides a support base to nurture clean energy business that continue to grow, Leffingwell said.
Several years ago, Austin declared itself the live music capital of the world and no one has ever challenged that, Leffingwell said. So he expects the clean energy capital of the world slogan to stick as well.
The changes started at city hall, which is the only city hall that is a national wildlife habitat, it has all kinds of renewable features including solar panels, Leffingwell said.