Austin, other Texas cities vie for U.S. ‘green’ money

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When Rahm Emanuel , President-elect Barack Obama’s chief of staff, told a group of corporate chiefs in New York late last year that Obama’s economic stimulus package would focus on “green infrastructure,” the message reached all the way to Austin.

In the Capitol and at City Hall, policymakers are trying to figure out how local governments can cash in on federal largesse. The wish lists that major Texas cities have assembled amount to a smorgasbord of projects that have an environmental bent, whether they put more public buses on the road to cut vehicle emissions or put solar panels atop government buildings.
The City of Austin sent a five-page list after the November election with potential projects to the United States Conference of Mayors , which will be lobbying the president for money. Together, the cost of the potential projects in Austin comes to more than $1 billion , with projections of at least 14,320 jobs created.
Green infrastructure projects play a prominent role. Austin Energy, for example, has asked for $3.5 million to replace solar panels atop its Decker Power Plant . It asks for $1.5 million to create 15 jobs to replace light bulbs with more efficient ones across the city. And $300,000 for job training for builders and installers of energy- and water-efficient home technologies. Those three initiatives alone could create as many as 80 jobs.
“This is a lobby tool to send a message to Congress and the Obama transition team that if they send money to cities, we can get projects under way quickly,” said John Hrncir, government relations officer at Austin Energy.
A preview of how that money will be spent might have been set on the campaign trail, where Obama said he would direct spending on renewable energy projects and retrofitting homes so they are more energy efficient. “We expect Congress will follow the Obama administration’s lead,” Hrncir said.
At the Texas Capitol, state Sen. Rodney Ellis , D-Houston , has filed a bill that calls for setting up a green jobs skills training program, helping workers learn jobs related to energy-efficient building skills, renewable electric power, and the manufacturing of sustainable products.
“If the state puts forward the commitment to fund green jobs skills development, that puts us in a good position to leverage federal dollars for that program,” Ellis legislative aide Doug Lewin said.Federal help might be a way for cash-starved cities and states to pursue large-scale projects as the country gropes through a downturn.
“It’s a challenging time between the cost of energy and the current financial conditions, but I don’t think any of us believe those conditions are permanent ones or long-term ones,” said Arah Schuur, who manages the Energy Efficiency Building Retrofit Program at the Clinton Climate Initiative, a New York nonprofit that works with cities on green infrastructure. She said administrators in cities such as Austin “know that these are not only economic issues but also leadership issues.”
“They’ll push ahead” with green infrastructure projects, she said.
The City of Austin has been positioning itself as a model for cutting carbon emissions since at least early 2007, when Mayor Will Wynn unveiled a climate protection plan. The plan calls for the city to meet 30 percent of its energy needs from renewable resources by 2020, to increase efficiency of single-family buildings, to power all city facilities with renewable energy by 2012, and convert the city fleet of nearly 5,000 vehicles to electric power and alternative fuels.
“It’s really important whenever there’s a new administration, that we not be flat-footed, and that we’re aggressive to go after our fair share or more than our fair share,” City Council Member Randi Shade said.
Yet even as Houston, Dallas, Waco and San Antonio have submitted similar lists to the Conference of Mayors, smaller cities, focused more on fixing potholes, have not.
“Until there’s actually some guidelines that come out of it officially, cities and counties won’t be going after” federal money, said Betty Voights, executive director of the Capital Area Council of Governments.
Travis County officials say they are not tailoring their green infrastructure projects — which include revamping transportation systems, expanding parkland, making buildings more efficient and laying new hike-and-bike trails — to a change in federal administration.
“It’s wonderful when the federal government expenditures can change the behavior of localities for the better,” Travis County Commissioner Sarah Eckhardt said. “But what’s important for us on the local level is, with an incoming administration, that we’re not just loading up on our wish list for whatever we need cash for.”
But with all the pressure of bailouts and infrastructure, even a free-spending Uncle Sam may not plant a Christmas present under every tree.
“There are all sorts of people competing for federal money: the automobile industry, the banking industry, states and cities,” Hrncir said.
Environmental goals

Austin Energy and other city departments are proposing infrastructure projects that have a green bent.
•Project: Fire Department headquarters

Cost: $1.8 million

Jobs produced: 25

Goals: Energy-efficiency improvements to building on Techni Center Drive that houses the Austin Fire Department headquarters and other city offices. They would lower energy costs, improve indoor air quality and lower maintenance costs.
•Project: Hornsby Bend Biosolids Treatment Plant

Cost: $1.8 million

Jobs produced: 15 (for up to a year)

Goals: Replacing one of the current biogas generators with higher-efficiency equipment will offset 400 kilowatts to 500 kilowatts of the facility’s power demand. The project also is expected to generate 3.3 million to 4.1 million kilowatt-hours of electricity.
•Project: Decker Power Plant

Cost: $3.5 million

Jobs produced: 10 (for about 6 months)

Goals: Replace decades-old solar photovoltaic modules, which are no longer functional, and install new electrical infrastructure to support the solar array.
•Project: City facilities

Cost: $1.5 million

Jobs produced: 15

Goals: Retrofit existing 32-watt fluorescent lamps with energy-efficient 28-watt low mercury lamps to increase the quality of light, reduce energy use and carbon footprint.
•Project: Energy Efficiency Services

Cost: $200,000

Jobs produced: 30 to 40; training for 100 to 150

Goals: Provide building commissioning training to contractors and technicians in Energy Efficiency Services group. The group provides energy-efficiency technical support and training to building operators and owners.
•Project: Austin City Hall

Cost: $200,000

Jobs produced: 12

Goals: Retrofit light fixtures in the parking garage to energy-efficient induction lighting fixtures.
•Project: American YouthWorks

Cost: $570,000

Jobs produced: 12

Goals: Increase energy efficiency and use of solar photovoltaic system at American YouthWorks, a nonprofit charter school and job training center. Project would include installation of a 50-kilowatt photovoltaic system.
•Project: Energy efficiency training

Cost: $300,000

Jobs produced: 6; training for 200 to 300

Goals: Certify local contractors through training accredited by the Building Performance Institute, which specializes in certifying technicians proficient in energy-efficiency regulations and building practices.
•Project: Residential and commercial solar development

Cost: $250,000

Jobs produced: 5

Goals: Increase the use of solar photovoltaic systems in public facilities, businesses and private residences. The project also will stimulate local solar installation business.
•Project: Virtual Net Zero Households Project

Cost: $300,000

Jobs produced: 5 to 10

Goals: Make all new, single-family homes zero-net energy-capable by 2020. Zero-net energy-capable homes use renewable power generation such as solar panels combined with energy-efficient appliances, lighting, insulation and thermostats. The Virtual Net Zero Households Project will help install solar arrays, provide training for green builders and provide resources to make residences more energy-efficient.
•Project: Zilker Botanical Garden

Cost: $175,000

Jobs produced: 32 to 42

Goals: Install energy-efficient outdoor trail and exhibit lighting and electrical outlets so that the facility can extend operating hours and host nighttime shows and exhibits.
•Project: Lamar Street Bridge

Cost: $100,000

Jobs produced: 12

Goals: Replace degraded and costly incandescent lighting with installation of energy-efficient fiber-optic lighting. Project also aims to stimulate nighttime use of the nearby Pfluger Pedestrian Bridge.