U.S. House Appropriations Committee approves $100,000 grant for Georgetown solar energy project

U.S. House Appropriations Committee approves $100,000 grant for Georgetown solar energy project

By Community Impact Newspaper Staff Friday, 10 July 2009

The House Appropriations Committee approved a $100,000 funding request by U.S. Rep. John Carter, R-District 31. The $100,000 grant from the U.S. Department of Energy will fund the expansion of solar energy options for the City of Georgetown and its utility systems.

Georgetown is developing a solar power project with local partners to use as a pilot to encourage other commercial customers inside the service territory to consider installing similar renewable distributed power facilities. Installing the power facilities is expected to help reduce fossil fuel consumption and benefit the city power system by controlling voltage and maintaining power quality.

“I am pleased to announce these funds were included in the final committee markup of the Energy and Water Appropriations Bill,” Carter said in a statement. “Central Texas is on the frontline of developing clean and renewable energy technologies and I am proud to have secured funds that strengthen the tradition of clean energy investment that we are building. The residents and community leaders of Central Texas want clean energy, which is something I have always supported, so I am hopeful this grant will be included in the final passage of this bill so that we can continue to build our region into the nation’s premier hub of renewable and alternative energy technology.”

The grant, included in the final Appropriations Committee votes on the Fiscal Year 2010 Energy and Water Appropriations Bill, must next pass the full House of Representatives and Senate and be signed into law by the president.