On December 18 and 20, international trade authorities in the US and EU issued antidumping determinations on, respectively, wind tower and ethanol imports. Both cases must complete additional phases before final decisions are reached, but they reflect a continuing trend around the world for domestic industries to seek protection under their countries’ international trade laws against imports they regard as unfairly priced below cost or subsidized. For an earlier post on these types of cases, see http://sustainability-counsel.com/2012/11/01/solar-dumping-dispute-continues-to-flare/. (more…)
It has been said that the greenest building is the building that already exists. The federal Historic Tax Credit has been successfully encouraging the rehabilitation and reuse of existing buildings since it was adopted in 1976. The federal Historic Tax Credit program offers two kinds of credits: a 20% tax credit for the rehabilitation of income producing buildings determined by the National Park Service to be “certified historic structures” and a 10% tax credit for the rehabilitation of income producing buildings built prior to 1936. The success of the federal program caused 29 states to adopt similar programs by July 1, 2012. On July 2, 2012, Pennsylvania became the 30th state to offer tax credits to help finance the rehabilitation of historic structures when Governor Corbett signed HB 761 of 2011. (more…)
Turner Construction Company surveyed over 700 executives from a wide variety of companies involved with real estate – including architect, construction, real estate consulting, corporate owner-occupant, developer, engineering, real estate owner, corporate tenant, and broker/real estate service provider companies.
As summarized in the executive summary of the resulting Green Building Market Barometer 2012 report: almost all companies plan to incorporate at least some green features in upcoming construction projects, with reduction of energy costs and ongoing operation and maintenance costs as a significant driver, although fewer companies are likely to seek LEED© certification. (more…)
Filed under: Climate Change, Sustainability | Tags: Alternative Energy, DOE, Renewable Energy, Solar
On December 17, the Department of Energy announced the availability of $20 million in new funding for projects designed to integrate Concentrating Solar Power (CSP) systems with fossil fuel power plants. CSP technology involves a hybrid approach, in which solar-generated electricity is integrated into the infrastructure of existing fossil fuel plants, reducing costs and bringing new solar power on line more quickly. The new funding will support two to four projects and is part of DOE’s Sunshot program. (more…)
The U.S. Green Building Council (“USGBC”) is now accepting proposals for education sessions at Greenbuild 2013 to be held in Philadelphia, PA. For more information on the proposal process or to submit a proposal visit http://greenbuildexpo.org/education/2013-education-sessions/call-for-proposals.aspx. The deadline for submittals is Friday, January 11.
USGBC also needs peer reviewers to evaluate the session proposals. Visit http://greenbuildexpo.org/education/2013-education-sessions/call-for-reviewers.aspx for more information about volunteering as a reviewer.
