(For more on sustainability and all aspcts of building operations, watch for Better Buildings, coming in the February/March issue of Real Estate Forum.)

AUSTIN-Mention the word “Texas” and the response you might get is pretty straightforward: Cowboys, wide open spaces, no change of seasons . . . and oil derricks. It’s true Texas is best-known for bringing oil up from the ground – but experts tell Globest.com that this is also a state with a focus on sustainability initiatives and, to an extent, work with alternative fuels.
Austin is at the forefront of a sustainable vision for the Lone Star State; in 2007, the city’s controversial mayor, Will Wynn, oversaw passage of a resolution dubbed the Energy Conservation and Disclosure Ordinance. This outlined sustainability mandates for everything from home-building, to energy use in commercial real estate, to use of alternative fuels. The end goal is a 35% use of renewable energy by 2020.
However, John Sutton, BOMA Austin’s Energy Sustainability Committee Chairman says that, even before these issues were formalized through a municipal ordinance, conservation was on everyone’s mind. “Before it became popular, we had groups intent on protecting the (Edwards) Aquifer here,” he comments. Additionally, Austin has carved out a reputation for greenbelts, city parks and natural lakes and “there’s been a push to keep those things pristine,” Sutton says.
Houston, meanwhile, became a partner of the Clinton Climate Initiative and became, in turn, the first U.S. city in 2008 to retrofit municipal buildings to reduce energy and water consumption. As for San Antonio, the Alamo City, water conservation is also the name of the game here. Much like its neighbor to the north, it draws from the Edwards Aquifer, and much like its other large-city neighbors, San Antonio has struggled through the recent epic drought. As such, the city has drastically cut its water supply, relying on recycled wastewater to refill theSan Antonio River and to water public plants and golf courses. A free toilet-replacement program encourages homeowners to install water-efficient toilets. And San Antonio and El Paso have consulted with experts in Israel – perhaps one of the driest nations on the planet – for other water conservation methods.
Then there are the alternative fuels. Anyone driving the long, lonely Interstate 20 from the Dallas-Fort Worth area to El Paso can take note of the huge wind turbines in West Texas, twirling lazily in the hot sun. “What many people don’t know is that Texas is the number-one state for wind energy in the country,” says David Ronn, a partner and environmental expert with the law firm of McGuireWoods in Houston. “Also, most of the electricity providers in the state provide a green energy option, offered through wind.” Nor is wind the only sustainable fuel being examined. “Texas, besides being a great place to live, is also hot,” Ronn says. “It’s a good spot for solar power.” To that end, Austin has a solar farm and San Antonio is ready to put one together as well.
Most of the experts agree, however, that going green makes more sense through sustainability initiatives, rather than the more costly alternative fuels. Jonathan Wilson, manager, client development with Summit Energy Services Inc.’s Houston office points out that, while a lot of cities and municipalities in Texas like the idea of alternative fuels, the abundance of shale gas and other fossil fuels, not to mention the infrastructure in place to transport those fuels, is putting a damper on a stampede to wind and solar power.
Furthermore, Wilson continues, with all-in electricity prices from those solar and wind farms ranging from $0.055 to $0.085 per kwh (versus the 4 cents per kwh paid to use of natural gas or oil), “onsite generation and many capital-intensive energy related projects can be a tough sell,” he says. “Everyone is open to alternative fuels and new technologies, but they have to make financial sense.”
If money wasn’t enough of a problem, getting all that wind and solar power to the places that can use it can be a real challenge. “We have a lot of capacity, but until the transmission lines are built to transport that power, it’s kind of wasted,” Sutton acknowledges.
Nor is transmission the only issue. “The big problem with electricity is the storage issue,” Ronn explains. “It’s intermittent – solar works during the day, but not at night. And wind, when it blows, offers power, but you have to transport that and use it.” As such, he goes on to say, the next big question when it comes to renewable energy is how to store all of that wind and solar power so it can be used when needed.
Finally, the issue with renewable energies is whether or not they can survive on their own. “Wind and solar are tariff-induced industries,” Ronn says. “They exist because of government subsidies. What we’re trying to figure out is how to make them more efficient without those subsidies.”
While those in the know figure out how to use alternative fuels more cost effectively, action is focused on ensuring commercial real estate buildings and single-family residences work efficiently. Sutton says BOMA Austin put together a portfolio of area buildings and is starting to measure their efficiency through the Environmental Protection Agency’s Energy Star ratings – the first results of that plan will be out in June. Additionally, BOMA Austin is working toward a phased-in efficiency plan that helps make properties more efficient without owners having to spend a lot in doing so.
Responsible stewardship is the way to go now, Ronn says, because fossil fuels aren’t going away any time soon, no matter how many wind turbines are put to work in West Texas. Still, “there’s no question that our society, as a whole, is moving toward more of a consciousness with respect to sustainability and a more economical way of dealing with what we’ve got,” Ronn says. “People are beginning to realize you don’t have to waste, and you can be sustainable in how you do things.”