Michael J. Osborne (born September 20, 1949, in Amarillo, Texas) is an author, inventor, entrepreneur, and energy policymaker.
As chair of the Austin Electric Utility Commission,[5] Osborne has traveled internationally to speak and consult about the Texas energy experience.
[6] In 2015, he was part of the Austin, Texas, delegation to the 2015 United Nations Climate Change Conference held in Paris, France.
When he was six, his family moved to the small town of Pampa, Texas, where Osborne's interest in music grew as he played guitar and piano in two rock-and-roll bands.
The Armadillo became a springboard for the careers of celebrated musicians such as: Willie Nelson, Waylon Jennings, Stevie Ray Vaughan, Marcia Ball, Joe Ely, Jerry Jeff Walker, Bruce Springsteen, Shiva’s Headband, and many more.
He was also appointed Chairman of the City of Austin Generation Resource Planning Task Force,[15] which resulted in an adopted generation plan[16] to bring Austin (the nation's 7th largest public power utility and the 11th largest city in America) to 55% renewable energy by 2025.
[17] In April of 2018, Michael founded the Texas Electric Transportation Resources Alliance with Tom "Smitty" Smith.
In October of 2019, Mayor Steve Adler appointed Michael to be the Special Envoy for the City of Austin to the C40 Conference on Climate Change in Copenhagen.