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New initiatives could bolster rooftop PVs, energy efficiency retrofits

New initiatives could bolster rooftop PVs, energy efficiency retrofits


Drew Ballensky | June 15, 2011
Two new developments in Washington may give a boost to solar energy and energy-efficient building retrofits. Sen. Bernie Sanders, a Vermont independent, has enlisted New Mexico Democratic Sen. Jeff Bingaman and Arkansas Republican Sen. John Boozman as co-sponsors of the “10 Million Solar Roofs Act of 2011” (S. 1108) (http://www.gpo.gov/fdsys/pkg/BILLS-112s1108is/content-detail.html). The bill aims to significantly reduce the cost of permitting related to the installation of rooftop solar power systems by rewarding communities that streamline cumbersome solar energy permitting processes. In another green policy development, the US Green Building Council has gained strong support for a revamping of federal tax incentives related to green building retrofits. The USGBC and more than 85 groups representing building owners, contractors, architects, and other stakeholders in the built environment, have thrown their support behind a plan to modify the tax deduction for energy-efficient commercial facilities. The proposal would: • Measure energy savings compared to the existing building baseline, rather than requiring existing buildings to meet and exceed the requirements of the energy code for new construction. • Link the amount of the incentive to energy savings achieved. • Allow the building owner to claim 60% of the incentive at the time the energy efficiency measures are put into service, and the remaining 40% of the incentive after two years of demonstrating the expected savings have occurred. “This unprecedented level of accountability will encourage the proper operations and maintenance in high performance buildings, an Achilles heel of efficient designs that depend on the operators to live up to their full potential,” according to the USGBC.

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Drew Ballensky | Jan 14, 2014

D.C. Navy Yard building, site of mass shooting, will be renovated

A remembrance area and a new visitor's entrance will be among the changes when the Navy rebuilds Building 197 of the Washington Navy Yard, where a gunman killed 12 people and then was killed in a shooting spree in September 2013.

Drew Ballensky | Jan 6, 2014

Energy-efficiency retrofits can help reduce healthcare costs

Reducing energy consumption through energy-efficiency retrofits represents an underappreciated way to cut healthcare costs, according to the Rocky Mountain Institute.

Drew Ballensky | Jan 2, 2014

West Hollywood drug den to be remade into boutique hotel

San Vicente Inn, a cluster of century-old historic bungalows, known as a haven for nudists and drug users, in West Hollywood, Calif., will be converted into a boutique hotel.

Drew Ballensky | Dec 27, 2013

U.S. Capitol dome’s cracks to be repaired during $60 million renovation

Rings of scaffolding will start to rise this spring around the cast-iron dome of the U.S. Capitol in Washington as part of a $60 million renovation project to repair more than 1,300 cracks.

Drew Ballensky | Dec 16, 2013

Major renovation for historic Northwestern Building in Minneapolis

Minneapolis’s Northwestern Building, originally built in 1914 as a glass factory, is undergoing a major renovation. The 85,000-sf, four-story building is now serves as office space for multiple tenants in Minneapolis’ North Loop neighborhood.

Drew Ballensky | Dec 9, 2013

Bethlehem, Pa., receives preservation award for Bethlehem Steel building renovation

Bethlehem, Pa., is a recipient of a 2013 award by Preservation Pennsylvania for a renovation of the oldest building on the former Bethlehem Steel Corp. site.

Drew Ballensky | Dec 2, 2013

Army Corps of Engineers workers displaced during renovation of federal building in Huntington, W. Va.

A $47.6 million overhaul of the Huntington Federal Building in Huntington, West Virginia, includes altered traffic lanes on adjoining streets and the displacement of some of the more than 500 U.S. Army Corps of Engineers employees who work in the building.

Drew Ballensky | Nov 25, 2013

Plans for massive redevelopment of Ft. Monmouth in New Jersey likely to be revised

The redevelopment of Fort Monmouth, a former New Jersey army base, is likely to be revised on a building-by-building and parcel-by-parcel basis, officials say.

Drew Ballensky | Nov 18, 2013

Office design trends spurring office building renovations in Grand Rapids, Michigan

Key office design trends such as downsizing of overall space, more open floor plans, and the inclusion of more collaborative workspaces are prompting property owners in Grand Rapids, Mich., to renovate thousands of square feet of office space.

Drew Ballensky | Nov 11, 2013

Reconstruction of historic Salzburg, Austria railroad station took complex planning

Salzburg, Austria’s Central Station remained in operation during reconstruction, a feat that required complex planning.

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