OLATHE — For people yearning to work in the green, Johnson County's new government building on Sunset Drive is gold.

The $30 million office structure screams hip. Natural light slices through massive windows that draw in the panorama of a nearby wooded landscape. The 300 employees walk across a terrazzo lobby floor made of recycled glass bottles. Nearby, a rainwater tank connected to the roof feeds an indoor garden pond that slowly transfers moisture to the watershed outside.

Office walls and floors are segmented and interchangeable. Cubicle surfaces are covered in fabric derived from corn.

The result is a municipal office structure with an energy bill 43 percent less than a Johnson County administration center built in the 1990s.

"We didn't do this to be tree-huggy," said Neal Argrisano, deputy director of facilities for Johnson County. "We're not out there spending money just to be green. The economics work."

The package was compelling enough to earn gold certification from the U.S. Green Building Council. It the second building in Kansas to obtain the prestigious label, and it illustrates the fiscal soundness of harnessing the most abundant source of energy on the market — power wasted daily.

Weak link

Kansas' overall record in the area of energy efficiency and conservation is anemic.

The American Council for an Energy-Efficient Economy in Washington, D.C., reported in June that Kansas and 25 other states "seriously lag behind" peers in advancing efficiency policies and programs. The assessment is based on utility company spending on conservation, building codes, transportation policies, home appliance standards and tax incentives.

Top states in the council's audit — Vermont, California and Connecticut — scored 33 out of a maximum 44. Kansas' rating: 7.

Utility ratepayers in Vermont annually contribute $22.50 per capita to energy-efficiency programs. Kansans spend virtually nothing. California adopted energy-saving standards for 29 appliances. Kansas has none. In Connecticut, electric utilities and other retail power providers must draw a minimum amount of resource needs from clean, efficient energy technologies. Kansas has no renewable portfolio standards.

Kateri Callahan, president of the Alliance to Save Energy in Washington, said Kansas' efficiency deficit reflected the state's history of relatively low energy costs. The state ranks 16th in terms of consumption, she said, but the price paid for power is 38th in the nation. She said the inevitability of rising energy costs and recognition of the impact of fossil fuels on the environment would compel more states to reform.

"Efficiency is the cheaper, quicker, cleaner way we have to extend our energy supply and begin to tackle the climate," Callahan said. "If you don't use the energy, you're not leaving an environmental footprint."

A mandate

The 2008 Legislature will be asked to address a bill in January that mandates construction of efficient state-financed buildings — including public schools and universities. The measure was drafted by a bipartisan interim legislative committee of House and Senate members.

Currently, the state doesn't have conservation or efficiency standards associated with public buildings.

"Government needs to step up and lead by example," said Sen. Jay Emler, R-Lindsborg, chairman of the Senate Utilities Committee and a member of the interim energy panel.

Under the bill, energy and water consumption in new state-funded buildings must be at least 25 percent below commercial standards embodied in the 2006 International Energy Conservation Code. The code is tied to efficient lighting and mechanical systems, thermal performance, and use of new materials and techniques.

The proposal is ambitious, given past history. A bill requiring public buildings constructed or leased by a governmental entity in Kansas to conform to IECC standards was adopted in the 2007 session by the House but killed in the Senate.

Abandon KEEP?

Lawmakers may want to take a fresh look at KEEP, the Kansas Energy Efficiency Program. There were high hopes for a $2 million revolving loan program created by the state in 2006 to help low- and moderate-income homeowners obtain efficient appliances, replace leaky windows, and reduce heating and cooling costs.

Advocates hoped to copy the success of a similar initiative in Nebraska that turned over nearly $100 million in loans for improvements at 58,000 homes. After two years, Kansas' program has failed to measure up.

KEEP's administrative agency, the Kansas Housing Resources Corp., attracted one lender — Sunflower Bank. They have jointly issued 25 loans to make use of only $90,000 set aside by the state.

"I'd say the system is broke," said Rep. Carl Holmes, R-Liberal, chairman of the House Energy and Utilities Committee. "We need to get the money out there."

Options for breathing life into KEEP include cutting interest rates charged to borrowers and widening eligibility to people with higher incomes. Curtailing Sunflower Bank's profit potential could prompt it to withdraw, and expanding opportunities for cut-rate loans might invite political criticism about subsidizing the wealthy.

Nancy Jackson, director of the Lawrence-based Climate and Energy Program affiliated with the nonprofit Land Institute near Salina, said the program could be viable only if opened to all Kansans.

"This is not charity," she said. "This is not public assistance. This is something you have to pay back."

Executive order

Gov. Kathleen Sebelius is pushing ahead with her own energy policy agenda. In September, she signed onto a "clean energy future" initiative of the National Governors Association.

The idea is to bring urgency to energy security by convincing governors to make wiser use of existing resources through efficiency, promote such alternative fuels as ethanol, advance research of cleaner energy technology and take "reasonable" steps to cut greenhouse gas emissions.

"Frankly," Sebelius said, "we've had cheap energy and have done relatively little to look at how you conserve. Other states are way ahead of us."

The Democratic governor also joined with Republican Gov. Tim Pawlenty, of Minnesota, in pledging to buy more efficient computers for state government. It will add $20 in cost to each of the 4,000 or so units acquired annually by both states.

"It's going to cost a little more up front," Sebelius said. "We'll make a positive contribution to the environment."

Her goal is to cut Kansas business and residential energy consumption by 5 percent by 2010 and 10 percent by 2020.

KCC moving

For the first time, the Kansas Corporation Commission is weighing reforms that would help Kansas utility companies avoid financial downturns caused by participation in education programs that undercut demand for electricity and natural gas.

Jim Ludwig, an executive vice president at Topeka-based Westar Energy, said cost recovery was pivotal to obtaining the cooperation of utility companies.

"Will there be some way to protect them from revenue erosion if they're losing margins because they're doing energy efficiency?" he said.

The KCC is assessing energy-efficiency program alternatives and avenues for compensating companies collaborating on conservation. Both studies are to be finished in 2008.

Commissioner Joe Harkins said all efficiency strategies endorsed by the KCC would require a cost-benefit analysis proving to ratepayers the programs were economically justified.

"Consumers are going to pay the cost," he said.

Efficiency programs will never reduce energy demand in Kansas and avoid expansion of generating capacity or transmission systems, said Commissioner Michael Moffet. Perhaps proposals for new power stations should be evaluated in a different light by the KCC depending on whether the sponsoring utility had a viable conservation program, he said.

Voluntary steps

William Downey, president and chief executive officer of Kansas City Power & Light in Kansas City, Mo., said U.S. utility companies were being driven to embrace efficiency. There is pressure from politicians anxious about oil imports, the insatiable demand for domestic energy and growing concern of environmental issues tied to energy production.

"There is almost like a revolution is going on in our industry," Downey said.

KCPL sponsors a program involving "smart" metering in which thousands of customers volunteered to give the utility access to thermostats in their homes. It gives KCPL a tool to manage periods of peak demand.

"We can know if the air conditioning is on and turn it down during periods of high demand," Downey said. "The interactive nature of what's possible has enormous potential."

Midwest Energy, of Hays, is launching an innovative "How$mart" program. The company will help customers buy energy-efficient heaters or air conditioners, install insulation and make other improvements. Customers repay the investment on a monthly basis as they accumulate energy savings.

"By reducing energy use, customers don't just save on their energy bills," said Earnie Lehman, Midwest Energy president. "Customers will also contribute to a cleaner environment by using less energy."

Bruce Snead, energy efficiency expert at Kansas State University, said utility companies could do more to moderate consumption by consumers. He said the state's largest natural gas supplier, Kansas Gas Service, resists conservation initiatives.

"A lot of homes are heated with natural gas," Snead said. "We need to conserve this resource."

More to come

While Kansas trails in energy reform, Johnson County's accomplishments don't stand alone.

Washburn University renovated a science building by installing windows to manage interior temperatures, acquiring high-efficiency light bulbs for classrooms and placing organic material on the roof to retain heat.

In Manhattan, Riley County completed a public works complex incorporating ground-source heat pumps and extensive reliance on daylight. Future plans call for installation of wind and solar units.

Sebelius said these prototype structures will become the norm.

"What is amazing in the issue is how rapidly it's changing across the country," she said. "If I think about what people were talking about four or five years ago and what they're talking about now — energy independence, energy security, alternative energy, climate control, global warming all at the same time."

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