The incongruity of a super-green gasoline station selling fossil fuel is quickly forgotten upon viewing the energy-saving features built into the fuel pumps, car wash and grab-and-go market of the new Giant convenience center at Twin Buttes.

The center uses 45 percent less energy than an identical Giant center in Pagosa Springs, meaning an annual operating savings of $20,000 to $25,000, developer Eric Flora said as he led a tour of the premises last week.

Glenn and Terri Pauls, owners of the residential/commercial Twin Buttes development going up along U.S. Highway 160 west of Durango, went above and beyond to add the “green” features, Flora said.

“The gas station was already in the city, so we didn’t have to meet new codes,” Flora said. “But we thought it appropriate to commit to the same standards as the rest of the project.”

Western Refining Inc., based in El Paso, Texas, has a long-term lease on the $2.5 million convenience center. The refiner owns and operates 150 gasoline station/convenience stores in seven Western states and Mexico’s northern state of Chihuahua.

Gary Hanson, vice president of corporate communications at Western Refining, is pleased with how the Twin Buttes service center turned out.

“We combined advanced technology with innovative design to reduce energy costs,” Hanson said. “It’s good for us, good for the community and good for the environment.”

It’s a new design standard that makes sense, but each new service center has to be evaluated individually, Hanson said.

On the tour, Flora ticked off the green features of the convenience center:

b The framing and siding of the market use 100,000 board feet of timber that was salvaged from a tree-thinning project on the property and milled on-site.

b The roof and walls of the building are insulated beyond code requirements.

b The moss rock used in decorative touches also comes from the Twin Buttes property.

b All runoff from the hillside to the west of the center and the paved apron are collected and treated before entering storm drains.

b Forty-eight free-standing solar panels produce 1,500 kilowatt hours of electricity a month, enough to satisfy the annual consumption of three average households.

b The store bathroom has waterless urinals and a low-flush toilet.

b All lighting is from light-emitting diode bulbs.

b The thermostat on the cold-drink case is set at 42 degrees. When the outside temperature is lower than that, the system switches off and ambient air flows in to keep drinks cold.

b A closed-circuit heating and cooling system funnels heat to pipes imbedded in the paved apron to melt snow.

b The water in the three-compartment, cold-water car wash is cleaned after use and recycled. Each wash uses 30 percent new water and 70 percent recycled water.

daler@durango herald.com