June 26, 2012

In an effort to continue its commitment to increase energy efficiency within public housing, the Housing Authority of the City of El Paso, Texas (HACEP) recently won an EDF Climate Corps fellow through the Environmental Defense Fund. EDF Climate Corps places specially trained MBA and MPA students in companies, cities, and universities to build the business case for energy efficiency. For HACEP, this will entail an HVAC energy audit performed on four of its high rise apartment buildings constructed in the 1970s. This report will then form the crux of the business case to rehabilitate these buildings to greatly increase their energy efficiency and reduce operational costs.

Toward this end, HACEP is proud to welcome Nicolas Lopez as its EDF Climate Corps Fellow. Mr. Lopez obtained a Bachelor's Degree in Industrial Engineering and a Master's in Manufacturing Engineering from the University of Texas at El Paso. He began his Doctoral in Computational Science & Engineering in 2011 and has focused his work on renewable energy integration and energy optimization problems. Mr. Lopez's plan for the next 5-10 years is to continue contributing to renewable energy implementations with an academic position or research performed at a laboratory. He would like to be involved in the development of new alternative energy technologies and the implementation of them in hybrid systems.

The stipend of this three-month fellowship is $12,500, which is paid through the Environmental Defense Fund. At the end of this period, Mr. Lopez will provide HACEP with an energy efficiency investment plan that will include a list of recommended energy efficiency measures and cost savings, energy conservation, and CO2 reductions. He will also provide an implementation plan, supporting financial and environmental analyses, and a summary of key findings.

"HACEP is committed to increasing the energy efficiency among the 6,500 public housing units under our care to make them even more affordable," said Gerald Cichon, Chief Executive Officer of HACEP. "We are grateful to EDF Climate Corps for recognizing our progress in this area, and look forward to reviewing the fellow's data in order to better spend our federal funds in the wisest manner possible."

About HACEP
The Housing Authority of the City of El Paso, Texas (HACEP) provides safe, decent and affordable housing to assisted families at or below 80 percent of the area median income. HACEP is among the 20th largest public housing authorities in the United States and provides high-quality housing assistance to 40,000 El Pasoans through its Public Housing, Housing Choice Voucher, Tax Credit, Non-Subsidized, and Section 8 New Construction programs. HACEP operates a $77 million annual budget and is regulated and primarily funded by the U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development (HUD).

About Environmental Defense Fund
Environmental Defense Fund (edf.org), a leading national nonprofit organization, creates transformational solutions to the most serious environmental problems. EDF links science, economics, law and innovative private-sector partnerships. See twitter.com/EnvDefenseFund; facebook.com/EnvDefenseFund; and http://blogs.edf.org/energyexchange/.

About EDF Climate Corps
EDF Climate Corps (edfclimatecorps.org) places specially trained MBA and MPA students in companies, cities and universities to build the business case for energy efficiency. During the course of a 10-12 week summer engagement, EDF Climate Corps fellows analyze energy-saving opportunities and develop custom energy-efficiency investment plans that cut costs and carbon emissions. Sign up to receive emails about EDF Climate Corps or see facebook.com/EDFClimateCorps and twitter.com/EDFCC.

Shane B. Griffith - Public Information and Government Relations Officer
sgriffith@hacep.org
(915) 849-3710