The Texas Tribune: Texas, Where Oil Rules, Turns Its Eye to Energy Efficiency

As the state’s population keeps surging, demand is expected to grow, prompting leaders to think about how it will meet its long-term needs.

Now, a diverse coalition, which includes renewable energy advocates, city officials, bankers and others, is racing to institute a plan to increase energy and water efficiency upgrades that supporters say could help Texas improve its conservation record and become a model for other states.

“We’re such a big energy user,” said Kip Averitt, a former Republican state senator who is part of the effort. “That means our opportunity to be efficient is huge as well.”

Supporters acknowledge the challenge of avoiding pitfalls that have tripped up similar efforts elsewhere.

The approach, known as Property Assessed Clean Energy, or PACE, addresses the biggest barrier to efficiency investments: initial costs that can take years to recoup. A law allowing cities and counties to set up programs passed this year with overwhelming support in the Legislature.

PACE allows the owners of commercial and industrial property to use a property tax lien to finance energy efficiency upgrades like solar panels and water recycling systems. PACE programs bill an owner through the lien and forward payments to a private lender. Under a smooth-running program, property owners pay less than what they save on their energy bills. If a property is sold, the new owner would inherit the debt — a rule meant to further reduce the risks of investment.

Tony Bennett, the president of the Texas Association of Manufacturers, said that after scrutinizing PACE, his group was backing the plan. “We don’t like subsidies,” he said. “We don’t like picking winners and losers.” But PACE is different, he said, and it would spur investments that could help his group’s 450 businesses cut costs.

Thirty other states allow similar financing plans, though most apply only to energy, unlike in Texas. Most of the states have stumbled, largely because of the objections of mortgage regulators, who feared that PACE liens would take precedence over mortgages if a homeowner defaulted. And in California, one of a few states that has had investment under PACE, observers say, a patchwork of rules across cities has discouraged investors from financing projects statewide.

“We have some baggage to overcome,” said Charlene Heydinger, a lawyer leading the Texas coalition, called Keeping PACE in Texas. But she and her colleagues say they benefit from their state’s late entry to the movement and ability to learn from others’ stumbles.

The coalition is devising what it calls “PACE in a Box,” a model it hopes many of Texas’ 254 counties and more than 1,200 cities will adopt, encouraging consistency in a state that values local power. It plans to unveil the program by the end of the year, and it is raising money to travel and make pitches to local governments.

Many PACE supporters would prefer the program to apply to home upgrades as well. But by focusing solely on commercial and industrial properties, advocates have garnered support from bankers.

In a state where industry guzzles more than half of the energy used and makes up close to 20 percent of all the industrial consumption in the United States, the narrowed focus could have an impact on energy demand.

“The scale here is so much bigger, said Doug Lewin, the executive director of the South-central Partnership for Energy Efficiency as a Resource, based in Austin. “I think Texas could be a leader in energy efficiency.”

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Judge Rules 'Ikea Monkey' To Remain In Animal Sanctuary

A still from news video of Darwin's great escape in December.

ABC News A still from news video of Darwin's great escape in December.

ABC News

Darwin the 'Ikea monkey' will no longer be hitting the superstores with a Canadian woman who calls him her son after a judge in Ontario ruled that the primate is not a pet and should remain at an animal sanctuary.

As we wrote in December, Darwin, a Japanese macaque dressed in a heavy shearling coat, attracted considerable attention when he escaped from a locked crate in owner Yasmin Nakhuda's car in Toronto. He made his way through rows of parked cars and ended up inside a nearby Ikea store before staff there cornered him and called in animal control officials.

Since then, Nakhuda has been fighting to regain custody of Darwin, but without success. In the latest wrinkle in the ongoing battle on Friday, The Globe and Mail reports that Ontario Superior Court Judge Mary Vallee dismissed a suit brought by Nakhuda against Story Book Farm Primate Sanctuary, where Darwin has lived since the end of last year.

The newspaper writes:

"The case highlighted the problem of inconsistent regulation from jurisdiction to jurisdiction surrounding exotic animals as pets. Owning a pet monkey is illegal in Toronto, though it became clear in Darwin's case that animal services was unclear about its authority to enforce this law. The exotic animal issue gained further prominence last month after two young New Brunswick boys were killed by a python as they slept. Police in New Brunswick are still investigating that case.

"Justice Vallee's decision partly addresses this, specifying a number of animals that qualify as "wild" (such as lions, tigers, eagles, and deer), and reinforcing that if one of these wild animals escape, a person's ownership is no longer valid. 'A high onus regarding provision of secure housing for wild animals is appropriate to place on their owners,' her decision reads. 'Wild animals, particularly exotic ones, can be dangerous to the public.' "

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U.S. to Bring Gas Mileage Rules to Era of Hybrids

The Environmental Protection Agency said it would update its labeling rules — which date to the 1970s — to resolve disparities among the growing number of hybrid and electric vehicles on the market.

“E.P.A. welcomes this emerging trend and will be working with consumer advocates, environmental organizations and auto manufacturers to propose revised fuel-economy testing regulations to ensure that consumers are consistently given the accurate fuel economy information on which they have come to rely,” the agency said in a statement.

The move comes as more consumers and analysts are challenging the accuracy of government fuel-economy stickers on new models. At the same time, automakers are pushing to improve fuel economy as strict new government mileage standards are phased in.

In Ford’s case, the automaker said it would reduce the stated fuel economy of its C-Max hybrid utility vehicle to 43 miles per gallon from 47 miles per gallon in combined city and highway driving.

A Ford executive said Thursday that the company was voluntarily reducing the rating, and would offer cash payments to C-Max owners as reimbursement for additional fuel consumption.

Raj Nair, Ford’s head of global product development, said that reducing the rating would allay the concerns of consumers who are not achieving the previously stated fuel-economy number.

“We are taking actions with our popular C-Max hybrid so that customers are even more satisfied with their vehicle’s on-road fuel efficiency performance,” he said.

Ford said it would make a good will payment of $550 to any customer who bought the current C-Max model and $325 to consumers who leased one.

Industry analysts said Ford had to address the growing concerns over the reliability of its fuel-economy claims.

“Ford wouldn’t take such a drastic step if it didn’t feel that it was absolutely necessary, even if it’s just to protect its image,” said John O’Dell, green-car analyst at the auto-research site Edmunds.com.

It is not clear how much the consumer campaign will cost Ford, the nation’s second-largest automaker behind General Motors.

Mr. Nair said the company had sold about 32,000 C-Max hybrids since it was introduced last year.

Like most conventional hybrids, the C-Max hybrid is alternately powered by a gasoline engine and a battery. The system allows the vehicle to consume considerably less fuel than a car equipped solely with a gas engine.

The current fuel economy rules specify that automakers can use the same fuel-economy numbers for similar-size vehicles equipped with the same engines and transmissions.

The government requires automakers to test the fuel economy of the biggest-selling model in a specific category. In its midsize hybrid class, for example, Ford tested the Fusion sedan version because it was the top seller.

When the Fusion hybrid achieved 47 miles per gallon in combined city and highway driving, Ford was allowed to apply that rating to the C-Max hybrid as well.

But consumers and automotive publications have questioned whether the C-Max hybrid could achieve that rating. Ford also faces several lawsuits that challenge the vehicle’s fuel-efficiency claims.

Mr. Nair said that many variables can affect the real-world fuel economy of a hybrid vehicle, including weather conditions and driving behavior. “With hybrids, there is a lot more variability,” he said.

He added that it was difficult to make an exact comparison between the C-Max, a utility vehicle with a chunky design, and the sleeker-looking Fusion passenger car.

Ford expects to improve the C-Max hybrid’s fuel efficiency when a revamped version of the vehicle is introduced at the end of this year.

In the meantime, the company hopes the cash payments to consumers and its revised mileage sticker will defuse the controversy surrounding the C-Max.

“Our actions enhance Ford’s commitment to fuel-economy leadership, Mr. Nair said.

The competition among auto companies on fuel-economy claims is intense, particularly as more hybrid models and electrified vehicles are introduced.

Last year, the South Korean automakers Hyundai and Kia had to back down on inflated fuel-economy claims after the government found the companies had submitted flawed test results.

Automakers are also rapidly changing their vehicle fleets to meet more stringent government fuel-economy requirements in the future. Besides bringing out more hybrids and electric models, the companies are shrinking the size of regular gas engines and trimming weight wherever they can.

But the emphasis on fuel economy also comes at a time when consumers are becoming more sophisticated and aware of vehicle performance — including gas-mileage targets. On newer electric and hybrid models, for example, drivers can see on the dashboard display exactly how many miles per gallon the vehicle is achieving.

The E.P.A. did not specify a time frame for proposing changes to fuel-economy labeling requirements. But the agency said revisions were necessary because of the rapid pace of innovation in the industry, particularly for hybrid models.

“These vehicles are more sensitive to small design differences than conventional vehicles because advanced, highly efficient vehicles use to so little fuel,” the agency said.

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