New Reports Show Roadmap for Texas to Meet Growing Electricity Needs Without New Power Plants, Cut Pollution and Create Jobs


FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE

Contact: 
Jim Marston, Environmental Defense, 512.478.5161-w or 512.289.5293-w

Media Contact: 
Chris Smith, Environmental Defense, 512.691.3451-w or 817.229.1320-c  
 
(Austin – September 27, 2007) Texas could meet its growing electric power needs – without new power plants – and create an estimated 38,300 new jobs in the state over the next 15 years by using energy efficiency and onsite renewable energy (EE/RE) measures detailed in two new reports released today.
           
Most of these smart policies can be adopted at the local level – supporting stricter building codes for example, or encouraging homeowner energy efficiency – while also savings consumers money. The reports, commissioned by Environmental Defense, were produced by the Washington-based American Council for an Energy-Efficient Economy (ACEEE).
 
“Despite the fact that the ink is still drying on the TXU buyout agreement that scrapped plans for eight new coal-fired power plants, we’re constantly avoiding some of the simplest cost-saving solutions to temper our insatiable tapeworm-like appetite for more energy,” said Jim Marston, regional director of Environmental Defense’s Texas office. “For example, if the buyer of a typical new home in DFW or Houston improved their energy efficiency by just 15 percent compared to existing homes, they could save $360 on a year on electric bills. Improving energy efficiency is mere common sense.”
           
One of the reports focuses specifically on the energy-saving potential of the Dallas-Fort Worth and Houston-Galveston metropolitan areas, both of which face difficult challenges in reducing air pollution produced partly by coal-fired power plants.
 
According to that report, adopting ACEEE’s recommendations would net 11,000 new jobs in the DFW Metroplex and another 11,000 in the greater Houston-Galveston metro area over the next 15 years. Statewide, the recommended policies would create about 38,300 new jobs by 2023. Texans would save $37 billion on their electric bills over that same period – money that could be recycled into the state’s economy and help sustain the two regional economies that account for more than half the state’s economic production – along with preventing pollution from coal plants, thereby helping the two metro areas meet federal clean air standards.
 
The two reports follow on the heels of an April ACEEE report that demonstrated how energy efficiency measures could help maintain the peak demand margin required by the state’s electric grid operator. Report co-authors note that to bring economic and environmental benefits to these regions, local governments have opportunities to begin adopting and implementing such measures.
 
“The Texas Legislature included a few of our recommended policies in their energy bill this year, but needs to do more in the next session,” said Neal Elliott, ACEEE’s Industrial Program Director and report co-author. “The state doesn’t, however have to wait until the 2009 legislative session to continue to realize the benefits of energy efficiency. Two-thirds of the potential savings in the DFW area and over half of the savings in the Houston area can be realized by local government action.”
 
In particular, local leadership on new building standards – homes and commercial buildings, upgrades of existing government buildings – combined heat and power, and onsite renewables, represents significant opportunities. Frameworks already exist at the state level for these policy areas, so all that is required is a commitment at the local level. Many of the large firms in the region may be important allies as they can provide both important energy efficiency opportunities and support for local policies that help ensure adequate electricity supplies, contain future electricity cost increases, and reduce environmental pressures.
 
Investments in energy efficiency and onsite renewable energy not only meet future energy needs, but they also create new jobs by encouraging investments at the local level and by recycling the energy savings back into the local economy. This impact is roughly equivalent to the employment that would be directly and indirectly supported by the construction and operation of 300 average manufacturing plants within Texas.
 

These reports - The Economic Benefits of an Energy Efficiency and Onsite Renewable Energy Strategy to Meet Growing Electricity Needs in Texas and Role of Energy Efficiency and Onsite Renewables in Meeting Energy and Environmental Needs in the Dallas/Fort Worth and Houston/Galveston Metro Areas –along with the earlier March report, Potential for Energy Efficiency, Demand Response, and Onsite Renewable Energy to Meet Texas’s Growing Electricity Demands, are available for free download at and http://aceee.org/pubs/e076.htm and http://aceee.org/pubs/e078.htm.

 

 

FACT SHEET
 
WHAT
Two reports, commissioned by Environmental Defense and prepared by the Washington-based American Council for an Energy-Efficient Economy, were released September 27, 2007:
  • Role of Energy Efficiency and Onsite Renewables in Meeting Energy and Environmental Needs in the Dallas/Fort Worth and Houston/Galveston Metro Areas
  • The Economic Benefits of an Energy Efficiency and Onsite Renewable Energy Strategy to Meet Growing Electricity Needs in Texas
 
MAIN MESSAGES
  • 38,300 new jobs possible by 2023, including 11,700 in DFW and another 11,100 in the Houston-Galveston areas
  • $37 billion electricity savings for all Texans
  • Eliminates the need for new power plants statewide over the next 15 years
  • Local governments can take action now – as more than half of the identified potential could be achieved at the local level without further legislation. Specific opportunities include:
 
Building Codes
ACEEE estimates that the economic potential to reduce energy use in new Texas homes and commercial buildings is roughly 50 percent. Energy-efficient building code improvements can lock in these savings. Local governments can also sponsor training and technical assistance for architects, engineers, and builders on ways to achieve the savings at modest cost, with financial incentives to help defray the extra costs. Local governments are uniquely positioned to work with the local lending community to encourage favorable loan terms for energy-efficient properties. Finally, local governments can offer favorable permitting and fee treatment for qualifying energy-efficient buildings, further encouraging builders to implement these designs.
 
Energy-Efficient State and Municipal Buildings Program
Local governments can seek energy-savings performance contracts from energy-efficiency service providers in the state to reduce electric use in their own buildings. By becoming energy efficiency leaders, local governments can both show fiduciary responsibility with tax payers’ dollars, while at the same time setting an example for individual consumers and business to step up to the plate in adopting energy-efficiency practices.
 
Appliance Standards
Municipalities in Texas could implement appliance efficiency requirements for products that are not subject to federal standards through amended building codes. Appliance efficiency standards can serve as part of clean-air plans as a means to prevent pollutant emissions.
 
Combined Heat and Power
Local governments should take steps to encourage the deployment of CHP in their communities, such as providing favorable treatment of siting permit requests. They may also want to consider favorable tax treatments of CHP facilities much as has been done with emissions control investments. Because a significant portion of the new CHP potential exists in public institutions such as education, healthcare and government facilities, local governments both possess decision-making control over and can directly reap the benefits of expanded CHP.
 
Onsite Renewables
Local governments can encourage implementation of onsite renewables through their treatment of permitting requests and by providing favorable property tax treatment of the assets.
 
 
[Note to editors: See graphic below illustrating potential savings for DFW and Houston metro areas. This graphic is also available in eps or pdf formats. Contact Chris Smith, Texas media director, Environmental Defense, [email protected] or 512.691.3451.]

 

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