Many of us might guess California or Massachusetts house the greenest U.S. buildings. And we’d be wrong. Illinois is number one, at least by the standard of the U.S. Green Building Council (USGBC), which this week ranked the top 10 states for LEED, a widely used international building rating metric. In fact, Illinois has been number one for two … [Read more...]
Building Investor Confidence in Energy Efficiency Projects Part 1
The Investor Confidence Project provides energy efficiency standards that serve as the "logo in the lobby," building investor confidence in much the same way the LEED program standards and certification build confidence in projects, says Matt Golden, director of the Environmental Defense Fund's Investor Confidence Project in this podcast, which is … [Read more...]
California Energy Commission Seeks LEED Accredited Professional Firm
The California Energy Commission seeks a LEED Accredited Professional consulting firm to evaluate the commission’s headquarters building located at 1516 Ninth Street, Sacramento, California. The consulting firm will help the commission develop and implement a LEED Existing Building: Operations and Maintenance plan to achieve a certification level … [Read more...]
Illinois Leads LEED in Top Ten Ranking for 2013
Illinois achieved the highest ranking in the 2013 U.S. Green Building Council’s top 10 states for LEED certification, arguably the best-known green building stamp in the world. The listing evaluated the states based on the amount of building square footage per capita that is certified for LEED. Illinois ranked 2.29 per capita, besting … [Read more...]
Reality check: Is green arrogant?
By Elisa Wood June 25, 2009 During a recent interview, a utility executive used the phrase “the arrogance of renewable energy.” He was talking about the need to keep costs in check and implying that green energy businesses do not. The executive asked that I not attach his name to the phrase. He was afraid he would anger those in the renewable … [Read more...]