Austin could land a solar panel manufacturing plant and a local office for the Facebook social networking service, projects that together could bring 500 jobs within the next few years, city and state officials said Thursday.
Facebook Inc. plans to create a 200-employee sales and operations center in Austin, and Yingli Green Energy Americas Inc. is considering Austin and Phoenix, Ariz., for a large solar panel manufacturing plant and its North American headquarters.
Capital Metro plans to resume full-speed commuter rail testing next week, in preparation for a March launch of the much-delayed Red Line, an agency official said Monday.
Federal railroad inspectors will be on the scene next week and likely will stay until the line opens to the public.
“These are not showstoppers,” said Elaine Timbes , an executive vice president with the agency and overseer of the rail project. “These are just things they want to observe.”
1 Buying an efficient air conditioner or furnace will automatically reduce my energy bill.
This is true to some extent, but you won’t realize all the possible savings if the equipment is not sized or installed properly. Studies have shown that typical air conditioner and duct systems are improperly installed, wasting 1/3 or more of the energy used by the air conditioner. New and replacement equipment (and ducts) need to be properly designed and installed to realize all the possible savings. The same caveats about proper installation hold true for insulation, windows and many other energy-efficiency upgrades.
2 Duct tape is good for sealing ducts.
Unfortunately, laboratory research has concluded that duct tape has very low durability when used to seal ducts. On new installations, tape may fall off due to poor surface preparation, because ducts are installed in dirty and dusty locations and conditions. On older systems, the tape falls off as it ages and the adhesive dries out and tends to wrinkle.
3 When my appliance is turned off, it is off.
In fact, we’ve found that most devices continue to consume power when they’re switched off, sometimes as much power as when they’re on!
4 Cleaning refrigerator coils saves energy.
While this seems intuitively logical, and very small savings may indeed arise, the few efforts to actually measure this effect have typically come up empty-handed. This is a classic example of a widely held belief based on assumptions rather than measurements.
5 Dimming my incandescent lights by 50% will cut my lighting bill in half.
Actually, the relationship is not linear and savings will be less than expected. As the voltage drops, the filament cools, the wavelength spectrum of the light output shifts further in to the infra-red, and efficacy thus suffers. Interestingly, fluorescent dimming is more linear and the savings for dimming are proportionately higher.
6 Turning up (down) the thermostat will make your home get warm (cool) faster.
It’s tempting to think of a thermostat like a water tap, i.e. the wider you open it the more water (heat/cool) will come out. In reality, it works more like a light switch in that if it’s “on” the same amount of light (heat/cool) will come out.
7 Installing foam gaskets in electrical outlets will significantly reduce air leakage.
Measurements have shown that less than 1% of a home’s air leakage is due to outlets.
8 Leaving lights, computers, and other appliances on uses less energy than turning them off and makes them last longer.
The small surge of power created when some devices are turned on is vastly smaller than the energy used by running the device when it’s not needed. While it used to be the case that cycling appliances and lighting on and off drastically reduced their useful lifetimes, these problems have been largely overcome through better design.
9 Fluorescent lighting is unhealthy.
Fluorescent lighting has changed dramatically in the last few years. Today’s fluorescents have greatly improved color quality. And the annoying flicker and hum have been eliminated from fluorescents that use electronic ballasts. Because they require less electricity, fluorescents generate less power plant pollution, emissions which have many known health effects. Fluorescent lights also contain small amounts of mercury and should be disposed of properly. However, additional mercury releases are avoided thanks to reduced use of mercury-containing fossil fuels used to generate electricity. If it’s been a while since you tried fluorescent lights, you might give them another chance.
10 Electric heating is more efficient than fuel-based heating.
It’s true that all, or almost all, of the electricity that goes into an electric heater is transformed to useful heat in your home. However, making electricity is an inefficient process, with as much as two-thirds of the input energy (coal, natural gas, etc.) being lost in the process. This is why electricity is so much more expensive for the consumer than direct fuels.
February 28th, a Beverly Hills, Calif.-based firm will auction 27 units in the Sabine on Fifth, a downtown condominium project whose future until recently had been clouded by a lawsuit and a foreclosure action. The auction is one of several that have taken place in Austin to allow some developers to quickly sell their remaining units in a slower real estate market.
Formerly an office building, the Sabine is a 10-story tower at East Fifth and Sabine streets that CWS Capital Partners converted into condominiums in 2007.
Although Auditorium Shores is one of Austin’s most popular green spaces, it lacks parking and amenities for the many pedestrians, cyclists and dog owners who converge there daily, city officials say.
To fix that, the city is planning $4.2 million in improvements to Auditorium Shores and nearby Butler Park. They include more parking, new restrooms, a pier over Lady Bird Lake, a children’s play area and a path that splits off of the hike-and-bike trail to ease congestion and redirect joggers, cyclists and walkers away from dog owners and their pets. There are no plans to make the off-leash dog area an on-leash area.
The Texas Department of Transportation recently published a list of Texas’ 100 most congested roadways. While Austinites may already complain about traffic congestion, now they can see how their commute measures up to friends’ and neighbors’. Fourteen of the roadway segments are in Central Texas. Find out the ranking of roadways along with what, if anything, is planned to improve the roadways and the cost of improvements versus not taking action.
Ranking: 26
This segment has more than 1.36 million annual hours of delay* with an annual congestion cost of delay* of $28.32 million. A trip that takes 20 minutes in free-flow conditions will take approximately 28 minutes during rush hour. If no changes are made to the current transportation system, TxDOT projects that a trip during rush hour would take 45 minutes in 20 years. TxDOT has no plans to update this roadway.
This segment has more than 1.08 million annual hours of delay with an annual congestion cost of delay of $22.56 million. A trip that takes 20 minutes in free-flow conditions will take approximately 26 minutes during rush hour. If no changes are made to the current transportation system, TxDOT projects that a trip during rush hour would take 40 minutes in 20 years. TxDOT has plans to add managed lanes to help with congestion.
Ranking: 45
This segment has more than 570,000 annual hours of delay with an annual congestion cost of delay of $11.89 million. A trip that takes 20 minutes in free-flow conditions will take approximately 26 minutes during rush hour.
AUSTIN — Despite the recession’s effect on the housing market, individuals are still finding the means to move into luxury condos downtown. Many formerly reluctant buyers took advantage of discounts on new units, while others remain cautious about committing to contracts that often favor the sellers.
As downtown continues to grow, developers eye another valuable area nearby, the 350-acre Brackenridge Tract, owned by the University of Texas. Its fate lies in three proposals awaiting a decision from UT regents.
Meanwhile, another issue affecting the city’s future will be determined before the end of the year. Barely passing a federal air quality test this summer, Austin could face stricter ozone standards in the coming years.
Have you ever driven past a for sale sign and spent too much time trying to circle around the prospective property to locate what grocery stores, dry cleaners, coffee shops and restaurants might be within walking distance or at least very close proximity? Worse yet, you fall in love on the internet with photos of the home’s exterior, counter tops and huge windows only to arrive and realize you are buried in an area with no access to the places you like to frequent?
Of course bedrooms, bathrooms and square feet will remain core to property search but the value driving factor that is gaining ground like no other is “walkability”. Walking proximity to a nice mix of local businesses is just what buyers are looking for these days to reduce time wasted and stress on the road ways not to mention achieve improved quality of life, a lower carbon footprint and increased relative property values.
On the national level, a new report, “Walking the Walk: How Walkability Raises Housing Values in U.S. Cities” by Joseph Cortright, John looked at just under 100,000 transactions within major markets and found that in 13 of the 15 markets, higher levels of walkability, as measured by Walk Score, were directly linked to higher home values.
“Walking the Walk’ shows definitively what we have always believed – that homes in walkable neighborhoods continue to be a good investment, and are one of the simplest and most effective solutions to fight climate change, improve our health, and strengthen our communities,” said Walk Score founder Mike Mathieu. “Our vision is for every property listing to include a Walk Score: Beds: 3 Baths: 2 Walk Score: 84.”
Walk Score (www.walkscore.com) is the leader in this space. The site works by calculating the closest amenities – restaurants, coffee shops, schools, parks, stores, libraries, etc. – to any U.S. address. The algorithm then assigns a “Walk Score” from 0-100, with 100 being the most walkable and 0 being totally car-dependent. Walk Scores of 70+ indicate neighborhoods where it’s possible to get by without a car. I’ve placed a Walk Score tile on every page on our site other than the home page. Try it out but I warn you. . it’s addicting and you’ll never look at a house purchase the same again!
WASHINGTON — The Senate approved a $45 billion plan Wednesday to expand a tax credit for first-time homebuyers, extend jobless benefits and provide tax refunds to money-losing companies.
Under the bill, the $8,000 homebuyers’ tax credit, slated to expire this month, would continue until April 30 and be expanded to include people with higher incomes and some who already own homes. The measure also includes $2.4 billion to extend unemployment benefits for as many as 20 weeks, enough to aid the jobless through the holiday season, and would loosen tax rules for businesses, allowing them to claim refunds by deducting losses sustained in the past two years from the past five years’ worth of profits.
The City of Austin is working on a new plan to make going green much easier on your wallet.
Solar power is a hot item in Central Texas.
This is a 4 kilowatt system. . . . .The total cost to the homeowner to install this system is right around $20,000. With all the rebates that are in place, the price tag works out to be less than half. Still, city leaders say that’s too much for many people. So Tuesday, they announced a new program where the homeowner wouldn’t have any upfront costs.
