Wynn on Wind

Wynn: Hey, pick up an "I heart NY" shirt for Newsdesk while you're there.

Don't bother calling Mayor Will Wynn next Wednesday, he'll be Big Apple bound. In his role as chair of the Energy Committee for the U.S. Conference of Mayors, Wynn will be part of a meeting, chaired by New York Mayor Michael Bloomberg, with the McCain and Obama camps. They'll be discussing energy infrastructure, and how a future administration could develop some big picture solutions to electricity production.

In his press release announcing his seat at the big table, Wynn touts big pushes in Texas towards Big Renewable, like the decision to sink $5 billion into transmission lines to West Texas, and large biomass plants.

But there's still a missing component. The green energy paradigm pushed by people like renewables convert T. Boone Pickens in his new Pickens Plan still depends on centralized energy production (big plant, far away, lotsa cables). "Ah," you say, "but hasn't electricity always been generated in big power plants?" Well, no. That only started with the shift from small, local DC generators to big AC production during the War of Currents. New tech, like microhydro, solar panels and small turbines, could all work really well at making every building at least partially energy-independent. What's interesting is that it could be cities – through zoning and coding – that could take the real lead on that distributed production.

Full press release after the jump.

Wynn to Talk Energy Infrastructure with Obama, McCain Camps

Austin Mayor Will Wynn and a small group of mayors are meeting Wednesday and Thursday in New York City with top policy staff from the Obama and McCain campaigns to discuss the critical state of our nation's infrastructure.

At the request of New York Mayor Michael Bloomberg and Miami Mayor Manny Diaz, Wynn will lead discussions on energy infrastructure. Diaz is President of the U.S. Conference of Mayors, and Wynn serves as chair of the Energy Committee for that body. Bloomberg is hosting the meeting.

"For too long, our federal government has ignored the need for major investments in our national infrastructure. Nowhere is that more apparent than in our inadequate and outdated energy infrastructure," Wynn said.

"Americans are now feeling the first wave of economic pain coming from our lack of a coherent, comprehensive national energy policy," he said. "What we're seeing is local governments and private entrepreneurs leading the way, but ultimately these efforts and innovations need the right infrastructure in place in order to deliver on their full potential."

"The task before us is no less important and no less monumental than the great national efforts of earlier generations," Wynn said.

Wynn will relate Texas' success in wind energy development and the state's recent decision to invest $5 billion in transmission lines to carry renewable energy from West Texas to population centers in the east. He'll also discuss Austin's ongoing progress in developing advanced demand management technologies that will operate on interactive "smart grid" infrastructure.

Mayor Wynn pointed to Austin's proposal to invest in a 100 megawatt biomass plant as another example of progressive energy development that mayors and presidential candidates will want to hear about.

"Across the country, local economies are being hammered by rising costs for traditional fossil-fuel electricity, costs that are projected to climb at increasing rates in the coming years. Leaders are eager to hear about our effort to diversify our fuel sources and insulate our rate payers from these price spikes through judicious long-term agreements," Wynn said.