Environment Texas formed a coalition with 100 Texans calling on the Legislature to adopt policies that encourage the manufacturing and installation of clean energy products.
“Our economy is struggling and unstable energy prices are only making things worse,” Alexis Illyn, Waco field organizer for Environment Texas, said at a press conference last week in Waco. “But Texas has the technological prowess and vast resources of renewable energy from the sun, wind and crops that can revitalize our economy, power the nation, create thousands of high-paying manufacturing jobs and renew Texas’ role as the energy capital of the world.”
The Environment Texas plan calls on the Legislature to:
n Create incentives to install 4,000 megawatts of solar power by 2020.
n Require utilities to reduce energy consumption by 1 percent a year by 2015 and 2 percent a year by 2020.
n Improve building codes so efficiency standards for new homes are increased by 15 percent every three years.
n Help schools, universities and local governments improve the efficiency of buildings through low-cost loans.
n Require certain appliances to meet minimum efficiency standards.
State Sen. Troy Fraser, R-Horseshoe Bay, said he appreciates environmental groups coming forward with such proposals, but said the effort has been ongoing.
“As the new administration is talking about things they want to do in regards to energy independence, a lot of people are looking to Texas. We’re so far ahead of everyone else, we’re becoming a model … The reason we’re considered an international leader is that Texas already has these things in place,” he said. “But, we’re not resting on our laurels, and we’ve done it because we think it’s good public policy.”
He pointed out that wind generation to produce electricity is already under way in Texas, with measures first approved in 1999. “We’ve gone from being a non-player to being the largest state” in developing wind power as a renewable energy source, he said. If Texas were a country, it would be the largest country generating wind power, Fraser said.
In addition, the Public Utilities Commission authorized putting smart meters in 60 percent of the homes in Texas - they are already being installed in Dallas and Houston, he said.
“This monitors electric use. The electric provider will be able to give you a discount if you stop using during peak times,” he said.
“Smart meters give people a way to control their power use” such as saving money by running the dishwasher or washing machine at night during off-peak hours.
Fraser said while smart meters have “amazing capabilities” now, possibilities include consumers being able to use their cell phones to turn off electric appliances remotely during the day, or turn on garage lights at night before they arrive home from work.
The Legislature already passed measures to help homeowners upgrade older homes, and will continue that effort this session, Fraser said.
“We’re already doing something along those lines,” John Toone, spokesman for Oncor, said of reducing energy consumption.
While he couldn’t comment on how the proposal would affect utility companies without knowing more specifics, he did say the PUC, which regulates Oncor, already tasked the utilities with saving 5 percent in energy in 2009. The goal was a 4 percent reduction this year.
The company had about 89 megawatts of power reduced this year, he said. To put that in perspective, a Super Wal-Mart uses about one megawatt of power a year.
While Illyn acknowledges the progress Texas has made, she said more can be done.
She said Texas ranks an “unimpressive” 25th in the nation for utility investments in energy efficiency according to the American Council for an Energy Efficient Economy. That council predicts that if Texas made a major investment in energy efficiency consumers could save $5 billion in energy costs over the next 15 years, more than 38,000 high-paying jobs would be created and air pollution from power plants would be reduced by 20 percent.
According to the IC2 Institute at The University of Texas at Austin, a major investment in solar power could generate 123,000 new high-wage, technology-related, advanced manufacturing and electrical services jobs by 2020.
Fraser agreed an investment in solar power is the next move and said incentives to broaden the use of solar power in the state will be addressed this legislative session, as will combining solar, wind and hydrogen fuel cell power generation in the same location.
The Environment Texas coalition suggests some programs in their plan could be funded in part by the federal government. President-elect Barack Obama has pledged to spend $150 billion over the next 10 years to promote clean energy.
