Green building, once considered an extravagance too expensive for many local governments, is beginning to catch wind. Officials in several Texas counties said they’ve reaped the rewards of starting environmentally-friendly and energy efficient projects, whether those projects were large or small.

For example, after Hidalgo County spent $300,000 in 2007 to install solar-powered streetlights in the border town of Granjeno (the town’s streetlights were disconnected in 2002, after the city became unable to pay its utility costs), the county chose to install even more solar lighting, including exterior lights outside the county’s new administration building and outdoor lighting in several subdivisions.

Hidalgo County Judge J.D. Salinas said he expects the county to regain its investment in as little as five years.

“That’s one of the most significant projects we’ve done,” Salinas said, adding that the county is looking at the viability of several more environmentally-friendly projects. “We’re trying to set the tone statewide in doing more green projects.”

According to the U.S. Green Building Council, a nonprofit organization devoted to environmentally-friendly building practices, there are nearly 20,000 buildings worldwide that have either registered for or achieved the environmentally-friendly certification of showing Leadership in Energy and Environmental Design (LEED). The LEED certification is a rigorous standard overseen by the U.S. Green Building Council. LEED buildings are constructed with a minimum amount of building materials wasted. They typically include features like waterless urinals, motion-controlled lighting and bicycle racks. Proponents say that LEED-certified buildings have higher occupancy rates, greater resale value, and dramatically-reduced utility costs.

Even more impressive than the number of green buildings is the rate at which green building is growing – with only 10,000 LEED projects in existence at the end of 2007, sustainable construction has roughly doubled in popularity over just 12 months. (It’s also important to note that the true number of green buildings may be even higher; many buildings in the United States incorporate energy-efficient features into their designs, but do not seek LEED certification.)

Figuring out how many counties are getting in on the green-building game, however, is a bit more difficult. The National Association of Counties launched its Green Government Initiative in 2007 to provide local governments with resources for implementing ecofriendly practices, but there are no official numbers on how many counties are actively participating, said Kelly Zonderwyk, a project manager at NACo. “There’s no official sign-up form for this program, so it’s hard to say,” Zonderwyk said. “However, I do believe the majority of all counties [nationwide] are receiving our resources and info.”

In Texas, Zonderwyk said she is only aware of a handful of local governments within the state that are actively pursuing “green” projects. Those that are, however, are finding the project to have benefits far beyond purely environmental ones. While sustainable practices may seem like the exclusive dominion of tax-rich entities, they’re actually within reach of most counties. Here’s why.

Good Time to Build – If You’ve Got the Funds
With the U.S. economy still in financial tumult, things are looking grim for American workers. In April 2009, the overall unemployment rate was 8.9 percent (6.7 percent in Texas), according to figures from the Bureau of Labor Statistics. These tough times could mean a delay in new construction projects for many counties, said Dub Taylor, director of the State Energy Conservation O office (SECO) in Austin.

“Things where you may have plans — particularly if you don’t have funding authorized or approved yet — the economy is certainly going to affect things,” Taylor said. “Public entities that have taxing authority right now are reluctant to increase the tax burden on citizens (who) pay the bills.”

However, Taylor added, if funding is already approved, now is an ideal time to move forward with the construction of a new facility. In January, the American Institute of Architects predicted that spending on non-residential construction projects would fall by 11 percent in 2009, and another 5 percent in 2010. This downturn in business could enable counties to complete a facility quicker and more cheaply than they could have a year ago.

“With any construction project, you could always expect budget overrun and delays,” Taylor said. “Now projects are coming in early and under budget because you have idle construction workers and companies that are wanting to bid their services.”

What’s more, Taylor added, green building practices have gotten significantly cheaper than they were just a few years ago, making sustainable design even more within reach.

“Not many people were building this way, materials weren’t available, contractors weren’t experienced, so you were paying a pretty good premium for building to a high-efficiency standard,” Taylor said. “Now, almost every architect in the state has at least one LEED-accredited professional on staff.”

The Building That Pays You Back
It’s no secret that green building costs more up front. The Natural Resources Defense Council, a non-profit environmental organization, estimates that initial costs for a LEED-certified facility will be about 2 percent more than that of a conventional building. For a $10 million building, that comes out to an extra $200,000.

But Bexar County Energy Manager Golda Weir said she expects the county to regain the extra money that they’ll spend to build the new expansion to their justice center. Plans are to make the building LEED Silver Certified, which is one notch above the most basic LEED certification. Weir said over the life of the $50 million building, which will be completed in late 2010, the excess funds will be more than recouped.

“Yes, to get it certified, because of the documentation and all that, it does cost some money,” Weir said. “But that cost is definitely going to be saved over time.”

A 2008 report by the New Buildings Institute in Washington, D.C. found that LEED-certified buildings used up to 30 percent less energy than their traditionally-built counterparts. Thus, a building that would normally carry a $5,000 monthly electricity bill could lower the bill by $1,500 each month – resulting in a savings of $18,000 per year.

However, the return on investment may be different for every county, depending on its utility rates, the local cost of materials, and other variables. In some cases, Taylor said, the payback time may exceed the life of the building, or be too small to bother with.

“It may clear whatever threshold (the counties) have, it may not,” Taylor said.

Lower maintenance requirements can be another financial advantage of a sustainably-designed building. In Montgomery County, plans for a green community center facility are underway. County officials hope to use recycled materials as part of the project, to paint the 10,000-square-foot building with recycled paint, and install water- saving native plants in the landscape. It may also install LED lights, which use less energy and don’t need to be replaced as often.

“They can last for years, versus just regular fluorescent or incandescent bulbs,” said Robert Collins, special counsel to Precinct 3 Commissioner Ed Chance, who is spearheading the project.

Money May Be Available
If your county decides to consider greening its next building project, there are programs in existence that may help ease the financial burden. SECO runs a program called Loan- STAR, which provides up-front capital to public entities (including counties, school districts and cities) that build energy- or water-efficient buildings or retrofit buildings for greater resource conservation. According to SECO’s Web site, the program has made 191 loans totaling over $240 million, while saving more than $212 million in energy costs.

“It’s designed so that the energy and water savings cover the cost of the loan,” Taylor said. “There’s no net cost to borrow.”

One LoanSTAR program participant is Collin County, which began an extensive project in 2005 to retrofit the lighting, power and air-conditioning systems on its main campus with more energy-efficient equipment. The county was able to secure $4.6 million in funding from LoanSTAR, and it will start repaying the debt in the next few months at a low rate of interest, said facilities manager Dan James.

“We were able to do that because of the things we did through Loan- STAR,” James said. “It provided us a way to do things then, without having to lay out any money until now.” James estimates that the county’s usage of electricity per square foot of building has decreased by about 25 percent over the past 4 years.

Federal funding is also available for green projects. The American Recovery and Reinvestment Act of 2009 — also known as the “stimulus bill” — created the Energy Efficiency and Conservation Block Grant Program, a new initiative that funds local and state government projects that reduce energy use and fossil-fuel emissions. About $208 million has been allocated to Texas under the program. Larger cities and counties apply directly to the federal government for the funds, while $45 million will go to SECO, which will distribute that money to smaller local governments. (To be considered a “large” county, a county must have at least 200,000 people outside all city limits.)

Counties should also look to local sources of savings for green initiatives. Weir said Bexar County will receive a rebate from CPS Energy, a utility company owned by the city of San Antonio, for retrofitting two county buildings with energy- efficient T8 lighting.

“Lighting is the first and foremost thing you can do to get a rebate,” Weir said. “Sometimes (the payback) is less than a year.” James said that Collin County received a break on electric rates from their provider by installing a variable frequency drive system to control power in county buildings.

“It puts less of a load on the electrical provider’s grid,” James said. “So they give us some compensation on rates. And it saves power.”

Guidance is Out There
After a green project has been developed and funding is secured, there are bound to be pitfalls or difficulties along the way. When this occurs, counties can turn to NACo’s Green Government resources for help. Zonderwyk said the initiative was launched after the success of its ENERGY STAR program — an initiative in which NACo paired up with the U .S. Department of Energy to help counties reduce energy use in their buildings. (Most people are familiar with ENERGY STAR as it relates to energy-efficient home appliances like refrigerators, but the program has expanded since its 1992 inception to include partnerships with private businesses, school districts, professional organizations and local governments.)

“We had begun to witness a trend in the number of counties asking for assistance to go beyond energy efficiency and to green their buildings,” Zonderwyk said. “Then we began to notice more counties asking us how to green their whole communities.”

The Green Government Initiative, accessible online at www.greencounties.org, is a database that includes comprehensive information on county green practices. Topics like land use, water quality, recycling and green county fleets are all covered. County officials can also attend virtual “webinars” on subjects such as renewable energy and subscribe to e-mail lists about green topics.

Meanwhile, green building continues to rise in popularity. The green building market is expected to increase to as much as $140 billion by 2013, according to a report by McGraw-Hill Construction. And because of their high visibility, counties are perfectly poised to not only take advantage of this trend, but encourage others within the community to do the same, Hidalgo County Judge Salinas said.

“It’s just the proper thing to do,” Salinas said. “We need to lead by example.”