Loudoun County, Virginia may dump green building requirements
By BD+C Staff
Loudoun County, Va., supervisors may do away with a county policy that requires LEED Silver certification on new county buildings. At a recent meeting, county supervisors questioned whether LEED certification is a cost effective policy.
The issue came to the fore during a discussion of preliminary plans for the planned Ashburn Sheriff Substation, which includes rooftop PVs.County buildings staff said the panels were included to reach the LEED goals. Several supervisors said they were not aware of the county policy on LEED certification.
“I don’t think the goal is necessarily LEED. I know that’s the policy, but I think the goal is energy efficiency, therefore cost-savings,” said Supervisor Ralph Buona, according to a report in the Loudoun Times. Buona said that the LEED requirement could lead to steep up-front costs and delay some projects.
(http://www.loudountimes.com/news/article/loudoun_county_reconsidering_green_energy_policy432)