Always alternative, Denton looks to solar

Denton is certainly determined.

The city plans to switch to mostly wind and solar power, based on agreements announced this week.

Denton’s city electric utility would buy more energy from alternative sources instead of buying from a coal-fired power plant, according to a plan announced by Mayor Chris Watts.

Six months after the City Council was forced to overturn a ban on hydraulic fracturing, the city is also proposing to build its own gas-fired power plant as a backup for wind and solar.

Right now, about 40 percent of Denton’s electricity comes from wind power. (The city has its own utility, so customers don’t choose a provider like in many other cities.)

The Renewable Denton plan aims to raise that to 70 percent — mostly wind, but drawing 17 percent from a new, 173-megawatt solar farm planned near Midland.

Only a few Texas homes are currently using solar power. The proposal would make Denton a regional leader in the use of renewable energy and also give the city a cleaner, gas-fired power plant to replace coal power.

The Denton council was unable to ban fracking, so city officials would like to do something else that feels good.

This story was originally published October 7, 2015 at 6:43 PM with the headline "Always alternative, Denton looks to solar."