GreenBuild Blog
Sunday, October 22, 2006
GM, GE, Whole Foods, Staples go Solar in a big way
New York Times, October 21, 2006, reports that a new “solar services model” is rapidly gaining acceptance in the commercial world, as a way for corporations to “go solar” in a big way, without incurring any upfront costs for the technology. In an adaptation of an early 1980s “solar micro-utility” model used for solar water heating on apartments, the company agrees to lease its roof to an investment group and to buy all solar-generated electricity for at least the next ten years. The investors purchase, install and operate a solar PV system and sell the electricity. They also take all federal and state solar tax credits and accelerated depreciation, as well as state, local and utility incentive payments for solar power. This model gives a decent return to the investment group, as well as satisfying the need for large corporations to be doing something about global warming and carbon dioxide emissions. Best of all, solar PV is one of the few green technologies that’s highly visible from a great distance, so companies can easily be seen as “doing the right thing.” Best expert I know on all of this is Scott Sklar of The Stella Group in DC.
Posted by Jerry Yudelson on 10/22/2006 at 09:45 AM
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PermalinkFriday, October 20, 2006
Leaving Las Vegas
Just spent a great evening and morning talking to the Las Vegas chapter of the National Association of Industrial and Office Properties (NAIOP). NAIOP published my book, Developing Green: Strategies for Success (available at NAIOP Bookstore. At a breakfast meeting attended by over 100 developers and development industry participants, I was on a panel that discussed green development in Las Vegas. One large office building in downtown Las Vegas, with 10 floors of offices above six floors of parking, scheduled for occupancy in August 2007, by the Molasky Group of Companies, is aiming at LEED Gold certification. The Las Vegas City Center project, the world’s largest private construction project at $7 billion and 17+ million sq.ft., is aiming to have all buildings achieve LEED Silver certification by 2009. (It appears there’s more green happening in Las Vegas Valley than just trying to make the folding kind.) Check in with the Southern Nevada chapter of the US Green Building Council, at www.usgbclv.org. My host, Pamela Vilkin of Tradewinds Construction, co-owner of a large, local commercial plumbing contractor, supplies the dynamic energy for both the USGBC chapter and the sustainable development committee of the local NAIOP chapter.
GOING TO KANSAS CITY
Was in KC on October 16th to speak with the local chapter of NAIOP. Green building is beginning to happen in that area, but slowly. Had a long discussion at the meeting with a key player in design at Wal-Mart. His presence at the meeting indicated to me that everyone should keep an eye on our biggest retailer as it reshuffles itself into a greener and more obviously socially responsible organization.
MEET ME IN ST. LOUIS
I went to St. Louis on October 17th to speak to that city’s NAIOP chapter at the historic Racquet Club. Missouri has about 40 LEED registered projects right now, and is just starting up the learning curve for green buildings. On the way in from the airport, we drove by the Alberici Corp.‘s LEED Platinum headquarters, a striking building renovation topped by photovoltaic panels and showcasing a large wind turbine, probably in excess of 100 KW, alongside the building. Seeing this display reminded me that we all need to figure out how to make green buildings more “educational” to the public at large. Solar panels on the roof facing the road and wind turbines alongside a busy freeway are good ways to do that.
Posted by Jerry Yudelson on 10/20/2006 at 05:09 PM
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Green Building News • PermalinkWednesday, October 18, 2006
YUDELSON ELECTED TO NATIONAL GREEN BUILDING COMMITTEE
NEWS from YUDELSON ASSOCIATES
FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE CONTACT
October 16, 2006 Jerry Yudelson, 520-207-9759
YUDELSON ELECTED TO NATIONAL GREEN BUILDING COMMITTEE
TUCSON, Arizona - October 16 - Yudelson Associates, a leading green building consulting firm, announced today that its founder and principal, Jerry Yudelson, PE, LEED AP, has been elected to the national “core committee” for the LEED for New Construction rating system, an arm of the U.S. Green Building Council. This committee is charged with developing new versions of the nationally recognized LEED (Leadership in Energy and Environmental Design) green building assessment system and overseeing the operations of current versions.
Yudelson is a former Board Member of the U.S. Green Building Council, a national nonprofit with more than 6,300 corporate and institutional members. He also serves on the national core committee for a companion standard, LEED for Core and Shell development, and is the only person in the country elected to serve on both bodies. He has trained nearly 3,000 people in the LEED standard since 2001, when he was selected as one of the ten original LEED national faculty members.
“LEED for New Construction is the de facto national commercial green building standard,” said Yudelson. “It is incredibly important in transitioning the built environment to one that is more energy and resource-efficient and healthier. The LEED standard has been used in nearly 5,000 building projects since 2001. Continuing to evolve this standard to incorporate new approaches to building design and technology is the work of the core committee, and I’m pleased to be part of it.”
Yudelson Associates, Tucson, AZ, www.greenbuildconsult.com, is a newly formed company dedicated to “growing the business of green building” and facilitating sustainability initiatives. The founder, Jerry Yudelson, is a leading national authority on green buildings and corporate sustainability, with three books on green marketing and more than three dozen articles to his credit in the past three years. He is the senior editor of the web site, www.igreenbuild.com, and on the editorial board of two major national trade and professional magazines. Yudelson was honored in 2004 as “Green Building Advocate of the Year” by the Northwest Energy Efficiency Alliance, an electric utility consortium based in Portland, Oregon.
Posted by Robert on 10/18/2006 at 11:43 AM
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Company News • PermalinkOn, Wisconsin!
In Madison, Wisconsin, today, Jerry talked with providers of the Wisconsin Green Built Home assessment program, a third-party certification of home energy efficiency. About 30% of new homes built in Madison are now certified, but the number seems to have peaked at that percentage. The program estimates that only 2% of homes in other parts of the state are Green Built certified. This is in a very cold state, where winter temperatures of zero Fahrenheit and below are not uncommon. (Remember all those December NFL playoff games in Green Bay on frozen fields?) It seems hard for most green building certification programs to crack the 30% barrier, and to reach that number is common only in a few places, such as Austin, Tucson and Portland, that I know of.
Posted by Jerry Yudelson on 10/18/2006 at 09:46 AM
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Green Building News • PermalinkPage 2 of 3 pages < 1 2 3 >
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