ANOTHER TEXAS TOWN GOES FOR NEW ENERGY

Again defying red state/blue state and urban/rural stereotypes, another small Texas town has seen the wisdom of contracting to obtain its energy from Texas windfarms and, thereby, investing in its own future and the future of Texas energy.

A scene from the movie
Borat was reportedly shot in this Dallas-Fort Worth suburb.

Wind energy lights city
Tasha Hayton, September 11, 2007 (Star Community Newspapers)

WHO
The city of Coppell, Texas; Direct Energy

Coppell, Texas (click to enlarge)

WHAT
Coppell signed a contract to obtain city electricity from Direct Energy. The contract locks the city’s rates and requires 50% of the electricity come from renewable sources.

WHEN
Contract just signed. The city’s slow migration toward the “dark side” (sustainability influences) is ongoing.

WHERE
Coppell, Texas, was once a farming community and is now an upper-middle class suburban bedroom community in the Dallas-Fort Worth metroplex.

WHY
- Coppell recently joined the International Council for Local Environmental Initiatives.
The contract serves 2 purposes, making the city more sustainable and keeping electricity rates predictable as the state enters a period of sharply rising energy costs.
- The contract covers city facilities, traffic lights and other city electricity uses such as the library, Town Center, the municipal court and the service center. All the buildings now have compact fluorescent lights and many have automated energy management systems and solar screens. The changes have reduced city energy consumption 30-40%. Efficiency is a major focus in the construction of a new senior center, with soil erosion and tree impact considered and recycled materials being incorporated.

Direct Energy is just getting started in the US (click to enlarge)

QUOTES
- Jim Witt, Coppell city manager: “The actual source of the power will probably come from the Texas wind farms. Through our contract, this renewable energy source is required to be used in the system at a rate based on 50 percent of the power needed to operate our facilities…”
- Amanda Vanhoozier, community programs supervisor: “(Going green) is the idea that everything we do has an impact on the environment, and what we need to do is meeting the needs of the present without compromising future generations…”
- Brad Reid, Parks Director: “There will be many new things that we will look at and consider before, during and after the construction process [of the new senior center]… The site storm water handling system will be designed to capture rainwater runoff from the building where it will then pass through bio-filters before being released slowly back into the ground…This project will require thinking outside the box…We'll be choosing materials that discourage consumption and waste."