The Yudelson Associates Blog: What's New

Friday, November 23, 2007

UAE Mandates LEED Buildings, Leads the World!

Sheikh Mohammed, Prime Minister of the UAE and ruler of Dubai, has mandated LEED standards beginning next year. 25 projects will be selected for the initial pilot program with an expected roll-out of a “version 2.0” in September of 2008. The main difference is a greater focus on water conservation, as well as an adaptation of the standard LEED credits to the UAE situation. This will cause a revolution among the world’s architects, contractors and engineers, since almost every large American and European firm of consequence is designing and building in Dubai and Abu Dhabi, key cities in the UAE.

Shouldn’t American cities start moving in this direction? Already, 10 cities have taken tentative steps, but none so bold as that of the UAE. The stated reasons include not only energy and water conservation, but also the health and well-being of residents. It’s clear that the UAE will also learn valuable design and construction lessons that can be exported to the rest of the Middle East, as well as other locations around the world. There’s a lot of talk about “green collar jobs” in the U.S., but without extensive practical experience we are likely to fail to capitalize on this opportunity.

Posted by Jerry on 11/23/2007 at 10:13 AM

This entry has been viewed 1064 times.

Tuesday, November 20, 2007

The Proof Is In! Green Buildings Get Higher Rents, Have Greater Occupancy, Says Just-Released Study

The first systematic study of occupancy rates and rents for Energy Star certified large Class A office buildings (some 223) vs. non-Energy Star certified buildings (some 2,077), showed that as of the second quarter of 2007, Energy Star buildings had about 2 percent higher occupancy rates and $2 per sq.ft. greater rents. If the cost of adding energy efficiency features necessary to get an Energy Star rating is $4 per sq.ft., for example, then the payback, just on rents, is 2 years, not counting the benefit of extra occupancy. Operating costs for these buildings run $0.54 per sq.ft. lower. The authors state, “together, the higher occupancy rates, higher rents and lower operating costs translate to significantly higher values. Our results show higher sales prices by 30% more per square foot.”

Posted by Jerry on 11/20/2007 at 02:05 PM

This entry has been viewed 271 times.

Saturday, November 17, 2007

Los Angeles closes in on mandating LEED buildings

The City’s move will affect all buildings above 50 units residential or 50,000 sq.ft. commercial and will affect about 200 large projects annually. The City Council is expected to approve the measure, which has the mayor’s full support, in earl 2008. The City also expects to expedite permits for developments committing to LEED Silver certification, helping them save two to 12 months in the permit process. That’s real money in the bank for large developments. In Los Angeles, already 48 buildings have been designed to LEED standards.

Posted by Jerry on 11/17/2007 at 09:10 AM

This entry has been viewed 262 times.

Friday, November 16, 2007

Wal-Mart solar power initiative showcases California store

Wal-Mart and BP Solar have teamed up to install solar power systems a store in California. Part of a larger solar power pilot project, the first installed system is at a store in Santa Ana, CA, and the expected output of all systems is more than 20 million kilowatt-hours per year, enough to power up to 30% of the California stores’ needs. For a solar power initiative unveiled in May 2007, Wal-Mart announced a major purchase of solar power from three solar power providers, SunEdison LLC, BP Solar, and PowerLight, a subsidiary of SunPower Corporation, for 22 combined Wal-Mart locations in California and Hawaii, marking its largest step to date in achieving a goal of being supplied by 100 percent renewable energy.

Posted by Jerry on 11/16/2007 at 08:10 AM

This entry has been viewed 266 times.