via the  ABJ

Texas is among the top 10 states in the U.S. for its square footage of commercial and institutional green buildings per capita.

The US Green Building Council  is out with its annual list of Top 10 states for LEED-certified Commercial Property Per Capita, and Texas ranks No. 8 with 1.99 square feet of LEED-certified space per resident in 2011.

In all, Texas boasts 50 million square feet of LEED-certified development.

Washington, D.C., ranked first with 31.50 square feet of LEED-certifed space for each resident.

The USGBC counts nearly 19 million square feet of LEED-certified construction in D.C., compared to 71.5 million green square feet in California, ranking California ninth on the per capita list, as 1.92 square feet per resident.

View the full press release.

via AgriLife

ALPINE – The Texas AgriLife Extension Service will conduct Rainwater Catchment and Landscaping in Times of Drought from 9 a.m.-3 p.m. Nov. 30 in the Brewster County Courthouse Annex-Commissioners Courtroom in Alpine.
The seminar is a joint effort between the AgriLife Extension offices in Presidio and Brewster/Jeff Davis counties.
Three Texas Department of Agriculture continuing education units – two general and one integrated pest management – will be available for those with a private applicator’s license.
“Dry weather is a fact of life in far West Texas, but the drier it gets, the more important it is to ‘catch and hold’ what rain we do receive through rainwater harvesting equipment and by planting water-smart landscapes,” said Jesse Lea Schneider, AgriLife Extension agent in Presidio County. “That’s what this seminar is all about. We want to bring homeowners up to date on the latest in rainfall harvesting and water-friendly landscape strategies, and we think we have the topics and speakers to accomplish that.”
The seminar topics will include: an overview of rainwater harvesting; recycling in the landscape; water quality of wells and rainwater; and winter care of rainwater harvesting systems, native landscape plants and trees.
The seminar will conclude with a tour of a recycling facility.
Individual registration is $10 due at the door.
For more information, contact Schneider at 432-729-4746, jlschneider@ag.tamu.edu ,or Logan Boswell, AgriLife Extension agent in Brewster/Jeff Davis Counties at 432-837-6207, l-boswell@tamu.edu.

via GreenLinvingOnline

These easy tips on staying warm as the season cools can save you money.

Finding ways to cut your electricity bill doesn’t have to be complicated. In fact, it’s the simple choices we make that can have the biggest impact. In Adria Vasil’s newest book, Ecoholic Home, Canada’s favourite “ecoholic” reminds us that cracking down on old energy-wasting habits around the house will help ease the drain on your bank account. “Just ask your grandparents,” she writes. “Saving energy, saving resources—saves you money.” Plus, reducing your energy needs will ultimately benefit your whole community.

So try these 7 small things before the snow falls:

Tip #1: Crank It Down

In winter, turn your thermostat down by two degrees and wear a sweater. Honestly, it will save you $180 per year or more on your energy bill (and just think of the huge energy savings around your province if everyone did this). Some even say it saves you 5% on your bill for every degree you crank it down!

Tip #2: Morning and Evening Retreat

A low-flow shower head requires less water and therefore needs less heat to warm the water. You can also insulate your water tank and set the thermostat two degrees lower to save energy. The ideal range is between 60 and 65 degrees Celsius. If you have a set thermostat, this range is midway between “warm normal” or “low medium”. We assure you, you’ll never even notice the difference.

Did you know that you can also save up to 8 gallons of water a day simply by turning off the tap while you brush your teeth in the morning and at night. That adds up to a lot of water savings! Do the same while you shave, and save even more!

Tip #3: Clean Heat

Cleaning your furnace filter every two months can increase its efficiency by 50 percent. Seriously. We know, that’s simple!

Tip #4: Timing is Everything

Install a timer on your water heater and furnace to turn it off at night and back on just before you wake up in the morning.

Few people realize that waiting to do electricity-heavy activities (such as laundry or showering) before 7 am and after 10 pm can reduce your energy usage and costs dramatically. In fact, most provinces now raise electricity rates in the daytime or prime time, making it smarter than ever to wait until later to run your appliances. Check with your energy provider and see how you can save.

Tip #5: Beware of Phantoms

Unplug home electronics when you’re not using them. Most of them have features that make them easier to use—instant-on TVs, for instance—that also suck up electricity, even when they’re not in use. This can amount to $75 in energy costs per year. Be sure to turn off your computer too, when you are finished with it for the day.

Here’s an interesting computer fact:

If all computers sold in the U.S. met ENERGY STAR requirements, the savings in energy costs would grow to $1.8 billion each year, reducing greenhouse gas emissions equivalent to those from more than 2 million vehicles.

Tip #6: Dry Smart

Dry two or more loads of laundry in a row to take advantage of an already warm dryer. Remove clothes from the dryer when they’re still warm to prevent wrinkling. And, clean the lint filter before every load. A clogged filter can increase energy use by up to 30 percent and also present a safety hazard.

Tip #7: Light Solutions

Replace your home’s incandescent light bulbs with CFL or LED bulbs. You’ll save energy with the lower wattage it takes to power the bulb but also from reduced cooling costs—incandescent bulbs give off 90 percent of their energy as heat.

Hope some of these help you save even more this winter. We’d love you to share your favourite energy saving tips with us. It helps us all.

via GreenBuildingElements

The move away from big, centralized, massive-scale organization seems to be on. The Internet gives us an archetype of the decentralized, horizontally organized entity that thrives without a hierarchical structure of authority. It is mirrored in political movements such as the Occupy movement, whose birth it midwifed, as well as in many economic developments.

All this is a roundabout way to say something about energy production, but bear with me, please.

We are nearing the end of the fossil fuel era. The peak of oil is approaching (or here), and all forms of fossil fuels are becoming harder (and more environmentally destructive) to extract as the easily reachable deposits are exhausted. In addition, climate change is making energy sources other than fossil fuels increasingly attractive. Solar power is high on the list of alternatives.

But what’s interesting about solar power, aside from its green credentials and inexhaustible supply, is that it lends itself much like the Internet to a decentralized approach, with less in the way of large-scale mass production of energy and more in the way of energy produced for the individual home or commercial building. It is literally power produced on the roof and behind the garage door rather than in the megawatt-generating centralized power utility.

This is not to say that there will be no centralized solar power generation in our future. The difference is one of degree and not of absolutes.

Solar power is inherently diffuse. The amount of sunlight falling on the planet is enough to meet the entire energy demand of the whole human race some 8,700 times over, but it’s spread out over the whole planet and most of it goes to keep the water liquid and feed plant life. Because solar energy is so widely spread out, it lends itself to small-scale, decentralized application rather than to large-scale, concentrated power production.

We see this already in the market for solar power, which is dominated by smaller-scale installations. As the price of photovoltaic cells and solar panels continues to drop, the attractiveness of a home solar system that can supplement and partially replace energy from the commercial grid continues to increase. In a nicely logical move given the Internet/solar power parallel noted above, Google is investing $75 million to offer home solar systems to homeowners for either no money down or very little down, with the company receiving a fee for the power generated, which is expected to be equal to or less than their current power costs.

The economy of the future is likely to feature solar power generation as a standard feature of every building in most parts of the country and, as a result, greatly reduced centralized power generation. In the production of electricity as in other areas, it will be a less centralized world.

Join in the discussion in the comments below and/or share the piece.

Photo credit:  Some rights reserved by mechanikat

via the ABJ

The first 100 percent renewable energy-powered data center in the U.S. will be built in Pflugerville, bringing with it a total investment of $210 million and 130 new jobs over the next 10 years.

The Pflugerville Economic Development Corp. announced that WindData, owned by Austin-based Baryonyx Corp., will start construction on the five-building data center campus totaling more than 600,000 square feet in the first half of 2012.

The PCDC board of directors approved a three-phase incentive agreement on Nov. 3 that is based mostly on jobs.

Phase I, which includes $70 million of capital investment over three years, is contingent on 30 jobs with health insurance benefits paying $67,500 annually. Phases II and III, which include an additional $140 million of capital investment, are contingent upon an additional 100 jobs with the same requirements.

“We see the city’s proximity to the growing Austin business community and its location in a deregulated energy market as the key drivers in our decision to develop future facilities in Pflugerville,” said Baryonyx Corp. CEO Ian Hatton.

Tax assistance agreements must be finalized with both Williamson and Travis counties to be able to proceed with the final build, Hatton said.

WindData, a site selection client of Angelou Economics, is seeking primary data center and disaster recovery tenants prior to breaking ground on the first building.

via Green Building Elements

Turning your home into a more energy efficient and environmentally friendly construct can be a daunting task, especially if it was originally built long before green went mainstream. Not long ago, trying to find environmentally friendly alternatives in home building was like searching for a needle in a haystack. These days it’s easier to find green products, but turning your older home into an example of green living can often feel like an overwhelming project.

It doesn’t have to be, though. If you’re not beginning with new construction where you can start green from the foundation up, you can gradually turn your home into a more energy efficient habitat through simple steps, one project at a time. Approaching your home piecemeal will be friendly to your budget as well as the environment.

These days there’s a green alternative for almost every aspect of the home, even garage doors. Yes, the largest moving part of your home can now be replaced with a green alternative. Despite its size, garage doors are often one of the most overlooked areas of the home for energy loss.

How many times have you stepped into the garage and experienced a significant temperature change? The traditional garage door isn’t well insulated, and over the years, we’ve come to accept that the garage will always be cooler or hotter than the rest of the house. Not only are old wooden garage doors inefficient, they also tax the environment.

Depending on the company, you should be able to find a garage door that is constructed with a wood alternative. Non-wood doors can be attractive and low maintenance. Many companies will insulate the door using recycled materials, as well. This translates directly into energy savings and a decrease in the monthly utility bill. Depending on the company and how the garage door is made, you may even qualify for energy tax credits.

Purchasing a garage door from a green company also means investing in their environmentally conscious business. Green companies typically have cleaner, more efficient manufacturing practices. They must meet the strict EPA manufacturing guidelines. Often they use less packaging and are invested in cleaner, more efficient methods of shipping. They may also recycle the scrap metal that’s produced when manufacturing the garage door. So you’re not only purchasing a green product for your home, you’re promoting greener manufacturing.

Tackling one project at a time around the house will pay off in savings and will prevent you from feeling overwhelmed. Starting with something as simple as replacing a garage door can be the perfect beginning on the path to greener living. Remember, small, simple steps build up to a big impact.

Join in the discussion in the comments below and/or share the piece.

via City of Austin

Oct. 27 – The City of Austin just rose to the No. 2 slot on the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency’s (EPA’s) Top 20 Local Government list of green power purchasers. It also ranked No. 7 on EPA’s National Top 50 list, across all categories.

“The City of Austin’s commitment to using green power serves as an example of leadership for others to follow,” said EPA Assistant Administrator Gina McCarthy.

See the lists at http://www.epa.gov/greenpower/toplists.

Local governments in EPA’s Green Power Partnership are ranked by their annual green power usage. The City of Houston ranked No.1, for purchasing 438,000,000 kWh. However, that represents only 34% of that city’s energy usage. Austin’s purchase of 406,000,000 kWh represents 100% of municipal energy usage. The City of Dallas ranked No.3, for purchasing 302,880,000 kWh, representing 40% of its usage.

Only two other communities on the Green Power Partners list made a 100% commitment to Green Power – the far-smaller Forest County Potawatomi Community and City of Santa Monica, CA.

“The City of Austin is helping to grow the nation’s green power market and showing what a difference local governments can make in reducing greenhouse gas emissions,” said Blaine Collison, Director of EPA’s Green Power Partnership.

As of Oct. 1, the City is purchasing 406 million kilowatt-hours (kWh) of Green Choice power annually¬ through Austin Energy. Prior to this purchase, Austin ranked No. 9 on the EPA “Top 20” Local Government Partner List.

“Fulfilling a commitment made in the 2007 Austin Climate Protection Plan, the City is showing leadership by supporting cleaner renewable energy alternatives to reduce its carbon footprint,” said Chief Sustainability Officer Lucia Athens, who oversees citywide climate protection efforts.

According to EPA, the City of Austin’s green power purchase of 406 million kWh is equivalent to avoiding the carbon dioxide (CO2) emissions of nearly 55,000 passenger vehicles per year or the CO2 emissions from the electricity use of nearly 35,000 average American homes annually.

Other benefits of Green Power include cleaner air and helping to accelerate the development of new renewable energy capacity in Austin, Texas, and nationwide.

About EPA’s Green Power Partnership
The Green Power Partnership is a voluntary program that encourages organizations to buy green power as a way to reduce the environmental impacts associated with electricity use. The Partnership currently has more than 1,300 Partner organizations voluntarily purchasing billions of kilowatt-hours of green power annually.

EPA defines “green power” as electricity generated from environmentally preferable renewable resources, including wind, solar, geothermal, biogas, biomass, and low-impact hydro.

Partners include a wide variety of leading organizations such as Fortune 500® companies, small and medium sized businesses, local, state, and federal governments, and colleges and universities.

EPA updates each of its National Top Partner lists quarterly, highlighting some of America’s largest voluntary green power purchasers. Each list highlights EPA Green Power Partner top performers through October 5, 2011. Green power is calculated as a percentage of total electricity use.

For additional information, visit www.epa.gov/greenpower and www.austinenergy.com.

Contact:
Katherine Gregor, Sustainability Office, (512) 974-7901, Katherine.Gregor@austintexas.gov

via KUT

Scattered thunderstorms in Central Texas brought rain to Austin.  The Hill Country could get an even better soaking and many people there will be happy to see it.

Joe Wheeler sells and installs rainwater filters for home use. He was one the vendors at the Rainwater Revival festival in Dripping Springs Saturday.

“We’ve got so many people who are drawing groundwater,” he said. ” Then their wells start going dry and then they have to worry about that sort of thing, so they will install a rainwater system to supplement their well.”

Wheeler said he’s had to truck water in once this year because of the drought. It costs around a $100 to buy 2,000 gallons of water. On average, that would last one person about two weeks. Standing near his demo, Wheeler says the drought increases interest in his rainwater filters.

“In spite of the fact that it is a negative, I think it’s kind of a postivie because in our society we are three generations away from people worrying about their water,” Wheeler said. He believes the drought has made people more aware of what he calls a “precious resource.”

An average rainwater collection system for a home would cost roughly $10,000.

This past legislative session, lawmakers decided that all new large state buildings would use an attached rainwater collection system. Another bill allowed county governments to use public money for rainwater incentives.

Karen Ford is a former Hays County Commissioner. She organized this year’s Rainwater Revival Festival.  She said there’s a pool of money collected from LCRA water line fees.

“I think it would be a great idea to turn around and use that money for rebates or for incentives for folks to help put them over the edge to select rainwater instead of a groundwater,” Ford said.

 Most residents in Hay County are under Stage Three Drought Restrictions. A 30 percent reduction in water use is required.

Residents in Round Rock and Georgetown are also under strict water restrictions. All outdoor watering has been banned for about two weeks until water station pumps that draw water from a lake reservoir can be repaired.

via New Braunfels Herald

NEW BRAUNFELS — Pedernales Electric Cooperative welcomed Co-op members and guests attending the Hill Country Solar Tour on Oct. 1.

The event, held in partnership with the Texas Solar Energy Society, was a first for PEC and featured residential and commercial solar installations in Oak Hill and Dripping Springs, plus educational presentations from Co-op representatives and Cathy Redson of ImagineSolar.

The tour highlighted solar installations at four PEC members’ homes, plus commercial installations at PEC’s Oak Hill Office and the Wesley Gallery in Dripping Springs. The tour kicked off at the Co-op’s Oak Hill Office, where District 4 Director and Board Vice President Chris Perry greeted members and guests.

“With this event, we are continuing the great tradition of electric cooperatives assisting our members,” Perry said.

PEC District Planning Supervisor George Esqueda offered insight into the Co-op’s interconnection process while Redson explained the benefits of solar technology.

“Texas ranks No. 1 in the U.S. in solar energy potential, and I am thrilled as a PEC member to see my Co-op reaching out to educate and support the use of this technology,” said Redson, who gave an educational presentation on the history of photovoltaics and on solar installations. “Solar is reliable, safe and adds value to your home.”

Members and guests then continued on a self-guided solar tour. Ken and Deborah Stedman, whose 6 KW solar installation was featured on the tour, were proud to showcase their conservation efforts.

“Energy conservation is extremely important to us,” said Deborah Stedman. “Reduced energy costs helped make our buying this house a reality.”

Since January, the Co-op has experienced a 33 percent boost in interconnections, with 30 members installing power-generation systems on their properties, 23 of which utilize solar power. This growth mirrors both state and national trends, as individuals look to renewable technology to help reduce their electric demand.

“The Co-op has seen a definite increase in interconnections and member interest in solar technology,” said PEC Communications Manager Michael Racis. “The Hill Country Solar Tour served as a great opportunity to network with industry experts and educate PEC members and the community.”

For details about the Hill Country Solar Tour, visit www. pec.coop/solar..

via ABJ

Austin Energy  is encouraging homeowners to make energy-efficiency improvements with a $200 bonus rebate through the end of the year.

Homeowners who make all the recommended home improvements could receive more than $2,000 worth of rebates when combined with Austin Energy’s regular rebates, Texas Gas Service   rebates and a weatherization bonus. Federal tax credits of up to $500 also are available.

Interested homeowners can contact any Austin Energy participating company and schedule an energy assessment of the home. Assessments for older homes are free. More than 50 local heating and air conditioning companies participate and are listed on Austin Energy’s website.

Homeowners can also call other companies for bids. However, before any work begins, an Austin Energy staff member will meet with the homeowner and the company on site to review and approve proposed energy-efficiency improvements and incentive amounts.

The rebate program ends Dec. 31.