As the temperature outside topped 100 degrees, an even hotter topic was being discussed Saturday inside a North Texas high school.

About 100 people from the Dallas-Fort Worth area showed up to the third annual Energy, Efficiency and Conservation Summit and Fair at Killough Lewisville High School North to talk about Texas energy problems and possible solutions.

Energy problems are weighing on everyone’s minds and hitting everyone’s bottom line in a tough economy, said U.S. Rep. Michael Burgess, R-Lewisville, organizer of the event.

“It’s a big deal, energy practices,” he said. “People are worried about the cap/trade bill and the direct impact it will have on their lives.”

The cap-and-trade climate change bill passed by the House of Representatives and now before the U.S. Senate would increase energy prices, including electricity bills, as it aims to help environmental protection efforts.

However, the negative reaction the country has had toward the bill likely will stave off approval in the Senate, Burgess said.

Other topics such as drilling the Barnett Shale, alternative energy and ways to save on personal energy costs were discussed at the fair.

Along with looking at alternative sources of energy, it is important for the state to create a diverse portfolio of energy for Texas, including natural gas, coal, wind and geothermal energy, said summit keynote speaker Commissioner Michael Williams with the Railroad Commission of Texas.

“We need to do a much better job of finding a balance of fuel sources,” Williams said. “We need to make sure everyone understands that we need it all.”

Drilling the Barnett Shale needs to be carefully balanced between the business of harvesting energy and the rights of neighborhood residents, he said.

The Barnett Shale issue likely will set policy moving forward as other shales are discovered in residential areas of the country, Williams said.

“We are the proving ground,” he said. “We know more about energy, and it’s important we get it right and export it.”

Tom Hayden, a Flower Mound City Council member, attended the event in hopes of spreading the city’s environmental policies to its neighbors.

“Flower Mound is taking a leadership position in the area to promote recycling and its environmental policy,” Hayden said. “It’s bigger than recycling. There’s so much more.”

The environmental needs in North Texas include taking an active measure to balance urban drilling and keep wells out of people’s back yards, he said.

“I don’t think we’re doing enough,” Hayden said.

Jay and Jean Provost drove from south Fort Worth to be at the event and support Williams and his run for the Senate, they said.

But the panels gave the couple ideas that will help them make their home more energy-efficient, Jean Provost said.

The open forum was important to allow insight on both sides of energy issues, Lewisville resident Jim Moffitt said, but it also spread misconceptions.

The costs of the cap-and-trade bill brought up by attendees at the conference have been exaggerated and the “bogus numbers” add unneeded fuel to the debate, the conservation advocate said.

“Some of what the opposition has said bothers me,” Moffitt said. “There is confusion and unneeded anxiety over this.”

David Jeffries of Jeffries Electric in Denton said he went to the forum to keep up on the energy industry, which he says will continue to evolve.

Jeffries’ business has been in the energy industry for four generations, and he keeps tabs on alternatives to electricity.

“People have a lot of different views on energy, and I think it’s great,” he said.


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