4 posts tagged “green”

Governor Schwarzenegger signed two new bills in California this month advancing the state's solar initiatives and incentives for homeowners and businesses. AB 920, authored by Assembly member Jared Huffman (D-Marin) and sponsored by Environment California, will require utility companies to credit property owners for any extra electricity produced by the customer’s rooftop solar power system. SB 32, introduced by Sen. Gloria Negrete McLeod (D-Chino), goes on to require these same utilities to purchase solar electricity from facilities that produce up to three megawatts and could increase installations on unused spaces such as warehouse roofs. Both of the bills will go into effect on January 1, 2010.

"Watch out. California is about to give Germany a run for the money," said Bernadette Del Chiaro, clean energy advocate with Environment California. "Every warehouse roof, every parking lot, every unused sunny space can now become a mini-power plant generating pollution free solar electricity all while making money for the property owner." Still, some worry that recent economic conditions may have temporarily crumpled a business' ability to finance new green initiatives. "Green building techniques will continue to be important to the developers that are still developing properties," Bill Di Santo, president of Schiller Park, Ill.-based Englewood Construction, told CPE. "But they need to be strategized so that they accomplish the goal of sustainability while also conforming to the budget constraints."

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The U.S. Green Building Council (USGBC) has launched LEED v3, the latest version of the USGBC's program for green building design, construction, operations and maintenance, which will be put into effect next week. All construction projects seeking certification under the Leadership in Energy and Environmental Design, or LEED, will have to adhere to these new standards.

As part of the program's improved oversight, USGBC will collect data from building owners to monitor the property's actual performance, and to help improve future versions of LEED. Under the new guidelines, building owners are required to submit annual data reporting both energy and water usage to qualify for recertification every two years. Scot Horst, senior vice president of LEED, said it "will bring to light external issues such as occupant behavior or unanticipated building usage patterns, all key factors that influence performance."

So what cities are at the fore of LEED development? The Miami Herald took a look at the top ten green U.S. cities this week, analyzing air and water quality, waste and recycling management, percentage of LEED-certified buildings, greenspace, renewable energy sources, and access to green lifestyle choices -- here are there top ten:

1. Portland, Oregon

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The Sears Tower will be getting a $350 million retrofit, bringing the world's third tallest building to new heights of energy efficiency, exceeding its current LEED standing. The strategy, designed by Chicago-based Adrian Smith + Gordon Gill Architecture, will cut the building's electric consumption by 80% and water use by 40% according to a CoStar article. "The Sears Tower energy sustainability and environmental education project presents a tremendous opportunity for inspiring building owners and the public to aspire to the highest standards of energy-efficiency," said Charles Jackson, Illinois Environmental Council executive director.

Plans for the makeover include the addition of solar panels on the 90th floor roof to heat water, wind turbines that can be maneuvered to best capture the currents blowing through Chicago, a project to replace 16,000 tinted single-lane windows with energy efficient windows to create a "thermal break", revamping elevators to conserve energy and refitting bathrooms to reduce water use. More information on the sustainability plans for the building can be read here.

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In the midst of a $500 million building makeover, the Empire State Building had decided to add a $20 million green project to the improvements being made in the historic skyscraper. Jones Lang LaSalle's "Empire State Building, Leadership in American Progress in Stability" initiative was conceived in a collaborative effort to create a new methodology for incorporating large-scale efficiency retrofits into existing structures, according to a CPN article.

The renovations, set to begin this summer, are expected to reduce the skyscraper’s energy use by 38 percent a year by 2013, at an annual savings of $4.4 million. "People associate greening with expense and compromise," said Anthony E. Malkin, president of Wien & Malkin, which supervises the building on behalf of the owners. "We’re trying to prove: no compromise and payback."

"The current economic environment has put constraints on spending in general, so people have to prioritize," explained Raymond Quartararo, international director and program lead for JLL.  "But even in these times, people are going to look very hard at this. We're going to come out of the repressed market and people are going to be looking at what to do. Their long-term requirement will be how to build value in an asset, and this is a key part of that. Sustainability has gone from being something that is nice to have, to something that is necessary."

For more news and information, visit Blumberg Capital Partners.