Energy

Texas ranks 6th in the nation for energy consumption per capita. The demand for energy use is growing across North Texas with the ever-increasing population. In order to reduce energy consumption and increase energy efficiency, entities must evaluate their energy usage. Below are tools, resources, and case studies to support local governments, educational institutions, and public and private entities’ efforts to implement programs to reduce energy use and increase energy efficiency in the public and private sector.


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EV adoption by municipalities is forecasted to increase over time, and at the same time energy demand in general is also forecasted to increase for the ERCOT grid. This whitepaper, produced by NCTCOG, examines the ERCOT grid’s current state, focusing on EV adoption growth and infrastructure resilience, and emphasizes planning to manage grid impacts and maintain EV charging for critical city operations during outages.
The National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA) climate toolkit serves to improve people’s ability to understand and manage their climate-related risks and opportunities, and to help them make their communities and businesses more resilient to extreme events.
Intermediate
ParkSmart certifies sustainable parking structure design and operation.
Advanced
PEER certifies electricity providers that improve power system performance while minimizing environmental impact.
Advanced

The City of Plano's Green Business Certification (GBC) program recognizes businesses that have taken steps toward sustainability in the areas of general education, waste reduction, energy efficiency, water efficiency, pollution prevention, and sustainable purchasing.

The City of Plano's The Great Update Rebate program is designed to provide pertinent rebates to homeowners of older properties to update and maintain their homes. 

The Public Utility Commission of Texas regulates the state's electric and telecommunication utilities, implements respective legislation, and offers customer assistance in resolving consumer complaints. Their mission is to protect customers, foster competition, and promote high quality infrastructure. As part of that mission, they have created the "Power to Choose" website as a tool to assist Texans in shopping for electricity.
Basic
Preliminary Energy Assessments (PEAs) recommend cost-effective resource efficiency measures that an entity can implement to decrease energy/utility consumption and costs. The State Energy Conservation Office (SECO) provides PEAs to municipal and county governments, independent school districts, county hospitals, port authorities, major airports, public water authorities and municipally-owned utilities at no cost! However, SECOs PEA services apply only to public indoor administrative or teaching facilities and infrastructure owned and operated by the public entity requesting the service.
Basic
PACE provides low-cost, long-term loans to commercial, industrial, and multi-family residential property owners for the purpose of implementing water conservation, energy efficiency, and renewable retrofits.
Intermediate
The RCCC develops regional code recommendations and promotes the standardization of model construction codes for the North Central Texas Region.
Basic
The Rocky Mountain Institute (RMI) develops market-based solutions that will accelerate the shift to energy efficiency and renewable energy.
Advanced

The Market Square project focused on a two-building complex in historic downtown San Francisco, California. It involved historic renovation, adaptive use of a historic building, and renovation/integration of a smaller, more contemporary building.  The project is located on a one-block site in the Mid-Market area of downtown San Francisco, an emerging location for tech tenants and new multifamily development.

Provides guidance and expertise to municipalities, counties, and special districts in need of support.
Basic
Jurisdictions interested in reducing the barriers to solar adoption can consider adopting the Solar-Ready Provisions to streamline their jurisdictional processes and provide consistency across the region.
Intermediate
SolSmart provides recognition and no-cost technical assistance to local governments in an effort to reduce local barriers to the growth of the solar energy industry.
Advanced
SPEER encourages the adoption of advanced building systems and energy efficient products and services in the South-central U.S.
Intermediate
STAR Communities certifies communities that are leaders in local sustainability.
Advanced
This tool, created by the National Renewable Energy Lab (NREL), incorporates energy efficiency data and renewable energy opportunities to improve data-driven state and county energy planning across the United States.
Intermediate
Take a Load Off, Texas informs consumers of the energy efficiency and renewable energy incentive programs offered by Oncor.
Basic
Target Finder assesses energy performance of commercial building designs and existing structures.
Advanced
In 2016, Texas updated its statewide energy codes placing local governments in the position of power to implement and enforce them within their jurisdictions. Energy codes are adopted statewide and serve as the baseline for all building practices. The local adoption of energy and building codes proves challenging for industries to remain informed of when code changes occur. Therefore it is up to the local jurisdictions to provide clear instruction to enable code compliance. With over 1,200 cities, towns and villages that have the authority to implement energy codes, it is important to equip these local governments with the proper tools and resources.
TRACS facilitates the implementation of sustainable solutions within Texas higher education organizations through expertise, educational resources, and training as well as an annual summit.
Intermediate