Clean Energy In the News

Austin residents are poised to receive statements on how efficiently their homes and businesses consume energy for the first time since the city began upgrading its buildings with energy-efficient lighting in the 1990s.

In February 2007, city council created an Energy Efficiency Upgrade Task Force with the responsibility of finding ways the city could upgrade existing buildings. Environment Texas, an environmental advocacy organization, led a meeting Monday endorsing the task force’s recommendations and asking city council to go beyond the recommendations.

The task force calls for all buildings in Austin to go through an energy audit within the next two years that will outline how efficiently each building consumes energy. While the
audit will be mandatory, there is no incentive for homeowners and landlords to upgrade their buildings, said Luke Metzger, director of Environment Texas.  

“The idea behind it is to have a certified inspector verify that your house is adequately insulated and what measures the homeowner can do to improve,” said Sascha Petersen, coordinator for the Austin Climate Protection Plan.

Since the plan’s inception, Austin Energy replaced 90 percent of all city buildings with efficient lighting. By 2001, all incandescent light bulbs in traffic lights were replaced with Light Emitting Diodes, reducing energy consumption by 90 percent.

The energy audit would cost property owners and energy utilities a combined total of $194 million but promises a $729 million return, according to the final draft of the proposal. The draft was finalized Sept. 17 but will not be addressed by city council until
early November.

The energy audits could affect university students because as renters they do not have complete control over their energy bills. The audits will present information that could prompt landlords and homeowners to conduct energy-efficient upgrades on their properties, saving students money even if there is no financial incentive to do so, said Matt Watson, policy director for Mayor Will Wynn.

 “Austin has one of the best energy codes in the nation for new buildings, but the city has to address its existing buildings,” Watson said. Homes and commercial businesses consume 83 percent of Austin’s energy, Watson said.

As part of upgrading the city’s existing buildings, the climate program has started projects to reduce the amount of energy Austin’s buildings consume. Totalling $15 million in improvements, one such program involves the Austin-Bergstrom International Airport.

The climate program is installing energy-efficient lighting throughout the airport and will recalibrate the airport’s cooling system as well as install a new chiller, said Fred Yebra,
director of Austin Energy Efficiency Program.

The project will cost $1.5 million and will conserve 2.1 million kilowatt-hours, which will save the city $260,000 a year, Yebra said.

“I think energy efficiency is definitely necessary,” Metzger said. “We are at a crossroads in our energy use; we have to reduce our energy use.”