Abstract

Climate change is only one factor driving growing numbers of cities throughout the globe to reconsider conventional approaches to electricity generation and use. In the U.S., this momentum is incorporating a shift away from centralized, supply-side approaches reliant on fossil fuels and nuclear power, toward more distributed, flexible, and cleaner energy systems. In this regard, such systems entail elements of the emerging Sustainable Energy Utility (SEU) model enacted by the U.S. state of Delaware in 2007. The potential value of this model can be explored by examining those locales where elements of energy service compatible with an SEU have currently been adopted and implemented. This paper looks to one such community, Austin, Texas, to assess its utilization of an alternative energy pathway and the outcomes observed to date. Considered here are the technical, economic, and environmental dimensions of change, as well as the social dynamics accompanying new imperatives for energy development.