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    Habitat Zero low-carbon rental neighborhood approved for Brownsville, Texas

    March 21, 2022
    Brownsville is at the very southern tip of Texas across from Matamoros, Mexico. Habitat Zero would offer 125 homes built with solar panels, Tesla Powerwall batteries and 30 EV chargers throughout the community
    Image credit Astreia
    Brownsville 623873cb2680d

    A projected low-carbon new kind of living quarters focused on residents who don’t own their homes is coming to the southernmost border town in Texas.

    Real estate developer Astreia announced plans for Habitat Zero to be located in Brownsville, Texas. Habitat Zero would be Astreia’s first build-for-rent neighborhood focused on low carbon footprints.

    Brownsville is at the very southern tip of Texas across from Matamoros, Mexico. Habitat Zero would offer 125 homes built with solar panels, Tesla Powerwall batteries and 30 EV chargers placed throughout the community.

    "We chose Brownsville because I saw the opportunity to support the growth of Starbase, and the city was exceptionally welcoming," said Natalie Rens, founder, and CEO of Astreia. "From the first meeting with city leadership, I was blown away by the bold vision for the future combined with the real drive to make it a reality, and not tomorrow but now. Brownsville is a place where we can just get things done. I love the spirit here. There's a feeling of hope and momentum in this city and we're honored to be a part of it."

    Starbase is one of Astreia’s goals, to research and then expand on creating sustainable homes on other planets. The homes built on Earth are envisioned as gaining insight into sustainable living under extreme circumstances.

    Brownsville city officials approved the Habitat Zero development district this month. The neighborhood, in addition to a mix of 1-, 2- and 3-bedroom homes, also would include two commercial lots with Highway 4 frontage.

    The project should be partially completed to make room for the first residents by early 2023, the company said.

    The energy efficiency features of the homes would be managed in real time through Astreia’s home control system app. Environmental features would maximize water conservation, according to the release. Walking trails and a park would be built around the homes.

    Some version of Habitat Zero neighborhoods has been developed in the United Kingdom. The Brownsville community would be its first such residential development of its kind in the U.S., Astreia said in its release.

    Brownsville has year-round subtropical weather patterns. The city’s population is more than 80-percent Hispanic and has one of the highest poverty rates in the nation, according to reports.

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    (Rod Walton, senior editor for EnergyTech, is a 14-year veteran of covering the energy industry both as a newspaper and trade journalist. He can be reached at [email protected]).

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    About the Author

    Rod Walton, EnergyTech Managing Editor | Senior Editor

    For EnergyTech editorial inquiries, please contact Managing Editor Rod Walton at [email protected].

    Rod Walton has spent 15 years covering the energy industry as a newspaper and trade journalist. He formerly was energy writer and business editor at the Tulsa World. Later, he spent six years covering the electricity power sector for Pennwell and Clarion Events. He joined Endeavor and EnergyTech in November 2021.

    Walton earned his Bachelors degree in journalism from the University of Oklahoma. His career stops include the Moore American, Bartlesville Examiner-Enterprise, Wagoner Tribune and Tulsa World. 

    EnergyTech is focused on the mission critical and large-scale energy users and their sustainability and resiliency goals. These include the commercial and industrial sectors, as well as the military, universities, data centers and microgrids. The C&I sectors together account for close to 30 percent of greenhouse gas emissions in the U.S.

    He was named Managing Editor for Microgrid Knowledge and EnergyTech starting July 1, 2023

    Many large-scale energy users such as Fortune 500 companies, and mission-critical users such as military bases, universities, healthcare facilities, public safety and data centers, shifting their energy priorities to reach net-zero carbon goals within the coming decades. These include plans for renewable energy power purchase agreements, but also on-site resiliency projects such as microgrids, combined heat and power, rooftop solar, energy storage, digitalization and building efficiency upgrades.

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