Michael Osborne

Austin | Renewable Energy Advocate

Mr. Osborne has been a long-time leader in the Texas energy community. In the late 1970s, he began with work building passive solar homes and selling energy-saving wood stoves. In 1981, he developed 5 25-kilowatt wind turbines and succeeded in selling the energy to a utility, a first in the state. In 1983, he became the first distributor in Texas for Solarex, a manufacturer of solar cells for remote devices, such as ranch gates and railroad signals, and in the 1990s, also represented the Texas wind turbine business for Zond Energy (later part of GE Wind Energy). Throughout the 1980s and 1990s, he leased wind resources from land owners, creating potential sites for the turbines that began to be installed in Texas at the turn of the 21st century. After working in the private sector, Mr. Osborne also took on roles in government, including his job as Director of Grants, Patents, and R&D for the City of Austin, where he helped persuade automakers to support production of plug-in hybrid electric vehicles. And aside from paid work, he has volunteered in a number of energy positions, including the City of Austin’s Electric Utility Commission and Generation Resource Planning Task Force, the Texas Renewable Energy Industries Alliance, Governor Ann Richard’s Texas Energy Policy Partnership and Sustainable Energy Development Council, and Governor George Bush’s Texas Energy Coordination Council.