Environment

Green Projects to Jump Start San Antonio Energy Efficiency

by Ethan Luke in 17.03.2010 21:52

San Antonio leaders are looking toward energy efficiency standards for the future. Programs like the “Lean, Clean Energy” and “Mission Verde” are aimed at making San Antonio a greener place to live. Mission Verde, the city’s goal to clean up real estate, roadways, and industry by setting green and energy efficiency standards, is a step “into the twenty-first century.” If implemented, the program would serve to help place San Antonio among the greenest U.S. cities.

If approved and implemented, Mission Verde would work in two parts. First, new-home construction standards will be tightened every few years until 2030. By then, all new buildings will be certified fully carbon-neutral. Second, a pilot program will be used to upgrade the city’s existing residential properties. It is hoped that the pilot program will help discover a workable funding model and unearth “an army of tinkerers bent on improving the energy efficiency of homes across the city.” From large scale implementations to in home solutions like solar water heaters, new minimums in green standards will be included and regulated.

Like Mission Verde, the “Lean, Clean Energy” program is designed to move San Antonio into a green age. The “Lean, Clean Energy” program is primarily aimed at making business and commercial operations more cost-effective and environmentally friendly. Lean, Clean Energy hopes to reduce electrical demand among San Antonio manufacturers by 9 megawatts by 2020.

Alamo Colleges is also working on a green project for the city. They have teamed up with CPS Energy, the City of San Antonio and the San Antonio Water System to train workers for energy efficient jobs, such as conducting energy audits and weatherizing homes. The project will also offer a Green Job Training Institute on the city's West Side. St. Philip's College is also planning to offer an Associate's Degree focused on energy efficient production means.

To fully realize the potential of any city-wide green program, a public-private partnership between energy efficiency workers and homeowners will be necessary. And, for the program to work smoothly, this partnership will need knowledgeable energy auditors who can take twentieth-century homes and bring them into the energy efficient twenty-first century. This need for energy auditors will open a market for those with the knowledge to do the job.

The U.S. Department of Energy is providing Texas with more than $218 million in stimulus funding for state energy programs; money that will fuel the development of energy audit positions. To help orient energy efficiency leaders, Green Energy Audit Certification is hosting a class in San Antonio on September 28 to jump start energy audit learning.

Green Energy Audit Certification works hard to provide the latest in green education, training and testing to qualified individuals who want to obtain the Building Performance Institute Certification and become Building Analyst Professionals. These professionals will be at the forefront of the coming energy efficiency wave. Join a class today, and get your Energy Auditing Certification.

Brigette Botkin. http://www.txgreenenergyaudits.com - Looking for training and testing in energy audits? Contact TXgreenenergyaudits.com for more information!

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