BAHC is a pioneer of Building America's program, Builders Challenge in the Rio Grande Valley giving homeowners the opportunity to purchase the best home that technology allows with increased savings in energy cost while reducing impact on the environment. As more and more homebuyers begin to understand the value of of buying an energy-efficient home, they are drawn to ask how they can be sure that a home is truly energy efficient versus another? Those are exactly the kinds of questions the Department of Energy (DOE) is helping answer with it's Builders Challenge, which recognizes builders that construct high performance energy-effecient homes.

Builders Challenge is a voluntary program for builders who want to stand out as top energy-efficient performers and who want to help homebuyers understand the greater benefits of energy efficiency. Builders Challenge is based on the DOE's Building America program, a public / private partnership focused on (1) developing energy solutions for the and retro construction and (2) striving to demonstrate that 30-50% energy savings can be achieved in "community scale, production pace construction, often with improved indoor air quality, durability and comfort at little or no inital cost."The amount of energy savings has a tremendous impact on the affordable housing market.

It is no surprise then that the first organization in the Rio Grande Valley to qualify homes in the Builders Challenge program was Brownsville Affordable Homeownership Corporation, whose mission is "To make Brownsville, Texas a better place to live by supporting community efforts to preserve and expand affordable housing, homeownership and economic opportunities by providing equal access to safe, affordable housing. BAHC's move toward green building and energy efficiency was a collaborative effort by it's many partners, including the City of Brownsville, Workforce Solutions Cameron, Dr. Subrato Chandra (Project Director, Florida Solar Energy Center of the University of Central Florida); Lawrence Doxy (U.S. Department of Housing & Urban Development); David Beal and Chris Carroll (HERS Raters).

"To date, we have built 45 homes using green building techniques, and twenty of those homes have achieved a HERS score of under 70."