Clean Energy Initiatives - Regional
Texas Renewable Energy Education Consortium (TREEC)
The State Energy Conservation Office (SECO) provides grants to sponsor TREEC to collaboratively investigate, develop, and teach curricula dedicated to post-secondary education in emerging energy technologies. Current consortium members include Houston Community College North East, Lamar Institute of Technology, St. Philip’s College, Tarrant County College, Texas State Technical College (TSTC) Waco, TSTC West Texas, TSTC Harlingen, Austin Community College, and Cedar Valley College. TREEC was founded in 2008.
(I-35) Green Corridor Collaborative
The Green Corridor Collaborative, also known as the I-35 Corridor Collaborative, is made up of representatives from community colleges, workforce development boards, and other stakeholders from San Antonio to the Dallas/Ft. Worth Metroplex interested in developing a thriving “green” economy in the region. Initially announced by five community colleges, the membership of the Collaborative has grown to include over 16 entities.
TFIC / GCA Green Jobs Business Council
As part of the Green Jobs Initiative launched by the Texas Foundation for Innovative Communities (TFIC) and Good Company Associates (GCA), a Green Jobs Business Council has been assembled, composed of leaders in the renewable energy, energy efficiency, smart energy, and sustainable construction industries, with a particular focus on how these industries affect the built environment. The Council was formed under a Wagner-Peyser grant from the Governor’s Office and Texas Workforce Commission. One target audience is the Green Corridor Collaborative.
The Texas Greenbelt Coalition has continued to grow as a clean, green technologies organization. A partnership started in October 2008 around the membership of the Austin/San Antonio IH-35 Corridor Council boundaries now boasts more than 175 people in its network. The suggested mission of the Coalition is to assist in the economic development of cities in Central Texas, utilizing the Green Energy movement to create jobs, companies, and green solutions for residential and commercial customers. As of June 9, 2009, the Austin-San Antonio Corridor Council has taken the Coalition under its organizational structure to assist in its development.
Austin-San Antonio Corridor Council
The Corridor Council is a private, non-profit corporation composed of contributing members of the region’s business and public sectors. Charter membership included 15 local governments and more than 60 private firms and individuals. It is not a political subdivision of the State, nor does it have any statutory authority. Rather, it derives its authority from the degree of consensus it can create around the issues it addresses, such as Lone Star Rail. Although it is not dedicated to clean energy, it is helping to develop the Texas Greenbelt Coalition.
The Pecan Street Project, now a non-profit organization, began with the mission to establish “America’s clean energy laboratory – a place for researchers and entrepreneurs to develop, test, and implement the urban power system of the future.” The project aims to solve many of the key issues surrounding the integration of distributed resources and smart energy technologies onto the grid. Phase I of the project was overseen by the Environmental Defense Fund and concluded in August 2009. National partners include Dell, GE Energy, IBM, Intel, Oracle, Cisco, Microsoft, Freescale Semiconductor, and GridPoint. It recently received a federal Stimulus award of over $10M.
Clean Energy for Texas is a collaborative effort between the region’s leading environmental groups to advance clean energy initiatives and policies throughout the region and State of Texas. Collaborators include Public Citizen, SEED Coalition, Sierra Club, ICLEI, and Environment Texas. Specific initiatives include the promotion of Property Assessed Clean Energy Districts (PACE), enhanced green building codes and efficiency standards, combined heat and power systems, and renewable energy goals.
EDF is pursuing a number of clean energy initiatives in the region, including the compilation of a green jobs guidebook similar to the one published in California and the creation of an interactive map and state fact sheet that indicates where green jobs would be created in Texas in a clean-energy transition.
Texas Foundation for Innovative Communities (TFIC)
The Texas Foundation for Innovative Communities is a nonprofit corporation founded in June 2006 that promotes sustainable communities by facilitating the adoption of energy efficiency, renewable energy, and smart energy technologies and sustainable construction practices into the built environment. It is currently pursuing three major initiatives in Central Texas: the creation of a clean energy park, a green jobs initiative, and attracting a regional presence of the National Renewable Energy Laboratory (NREL) to Central Texas.
The Texas Institute is an independent, nonprofit research institute founded in 2009 to conduct client-sponsored research and advance the development of sustainable technology solutions for government agencies, commercial businesses, foundations, and other organizations in the Dallas / Ft. Worth Metroplex. The Texas Institute will facilitate collaboration between University of Texas at Dallas, University of Texas at Arlington, Southern Methodist University, University of North Texas, Texas Christian University, and Collin College with the support of the local government, education, civic and business communities.
The CleanTX Foundation provides networking and education, including CleanTX Forums, for professionals interested in building the Texas clean technology community in the region. The CleanTX Forum is currently applying for its non-profit organizational status.
San Antonio Clean Technology Forum
Founded in 2008, the San Antonio Clean Technology Forum has quickly become an influential civic group in the region promoting sustainability issues. Comprised of business, educational, and community leaders, as well as students and interested citizens, the Forum is active in a number of clean energy issues in the region. A special event on the nexus between water and energy is planned for February 2010.
Texas Combined Heat & Power Initiative (TXCHPI)
The Texas Combined Heat & Power Initiative is a non-profit association of business interests that supports clean, energy-efficient, CHP technology applications in industrial, commercial and institutional settings. TXCHPI champions CHP as the most effective, economical, and environmentally sensible energy option for Texas.
Center for Commercialization of Electric Technologies (CCET)
The Center for the Commercialization of Electric Technologies (CCET) is made up of 19 Texas electric and high tech companies and five universities. It was created in 2005 in a collaborative effort to enhance the safety, reliability, security, and efficiency of the Texas electric transmission and distribution system through research, development, and commercialization of emerging technologies. CCET is pursuing a number of clean energy and smart grid initiatives throughout the region.
Central Texas Regional Center of Innovation and Commercialization (CenTex RCIC)
The Central Texas RCIC serves as a catalyst for emerging technology research, development, commercialization, and start-up incubation in Central Texas as part of Texas’ efforts to remain globally competitive. The center is an enabler for coordinating the region’s research entities and technology firms in regards to the Emerging Technology Fund, which has funded a number of clean energy companies in the region. The center accepts applications for awards from a 15-county region that includes Bastrop, Bell, Burnet, Caldwell, Coryell, Falls, Fayette, Hamilton, Hays, Lampasas, Lee, Milam, Mills, Travis and Williamson counties.
The statewide Innovate Texas Foundation seeks to speed technology commercialization and promote economic development in Texas by acting as a hub that joins academic researchers, angel investors, private-equity funds, entrepreneurs, and incubators throughout the state. A portion of its activities are focused on the energy sector in the region.