Russel Smith

Austin | Renewable Energy Advocate

Mr. Smith was the co-founder of the trade group, the Texas Renewable Energy Industry Association, and served as its executive director for many years. TREIA was spun off in the early 1990s from a related educational organization, the Texas Solar Energy Society, a group which he also helped start. Together, these two groups have been a rallying point, information clearinghouse and meeting forum for researchers, entrepreneurs, policy advocates, and users of renewable energy and high-efficiency energy sources. Mr. Smith and these organizations have helped distribute information, promote better policies, and expand investments in Texas for a variety of alternatives to, or ways to reduce use of fossil fuels, including active and passive solar technologies, wind, geothermal, biogas, etc.