Sustainable Development Focus
The Registry - May 5 Investors looking for opportunities to potentially increase returns by integrating sustainability in real estate investment and management are the focus of Morgan Stanley’s newest Institute for Sustainable Investing report, “Bricks, Mortar and Carbon: How Sustainable Buildings Drive Real Estate Value.” Key to the report’s findings is the fact that a typical office building that integrates sustainable practices could help reduce building expenses by 3 percent to 30 percent, creating $3.5 billion to $34.9 billion of asset value in the top 10 U.S. markets in the process.
KPCC - May 9 Governor Jerry Brown is ordering California to permanently follow some conservation measures taken during the state's drought. Governor Brown's order on Monday came as water officials consider whether to ease a 20 percent conservation order for cities and towns. The order does not set a mandatory percentage for saving water. The executive order requires cities and towns to continue monthly reporting of water use. In addition, bans on overwatering lawns will become lasting. It also requires better drought planning from cities and farmers. The state is also required to prepare emergency water restrictions for 2017 in case the five-year drought persists. Any changes proposed on Monday would likely go before the State Water Resources Control Board on May 18.
L.A. Biz - May 4
SunPower said construction has started on a 9.5-megawatt solar power plant in Los Angeles County that will generate power for use by the California Department of Water Resources (DWR). The plant is on DWR's property, southeast of Palmdale, and is expected to be operational by the end of this year. SunPower estimates the annual output from the power plant will be equal to the electricity needed to power roughly 8,500 electric vehicles for 30 years. The plant is expected to offset the equivalent amount of annual carbon emissions as 157 acres of preserved U.S. forests can neutralize in one year, according to estimates provided by the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency.
Disclosure: Allen Matkins represented SunPower in this matter.
OC Register - May 8 An Orange County pilot project, ABC Green Home, may be helping builders find the Holy Grail of green residential development: An affordable way to build the “net zero” home that produces as much power as it consumes. The pilot, ABC Green Home, seeks to build a net-zero home with existing materials and equipment at an affordable price. New California building codes mandate that by 2020, every newly built home should produce as much power as it uses during the course of a year. Builders say they expect to achieve that goal through a combination of reduced energy consumption and solar electricity production. Added insulation, energy-efficient lighting and appliances, and double- and triple-paned, coated windows will help homes cut power consumption.
Reuters - May 2 More than 30 New York City businesses, including Whole Foods Market Inc., Walt Disney Co's ABC, and Anheuser Busch, have agreed to cut the trash they send to landfills in half by June, the mayor's office said on Monday. The "Zero Waste Challenge" is part of Mayor Bill de Blasio's ambitious goal to reduce the city's waste output by 90 percent by 2030, through increased recycling, reduced packaging, and composting. In 2015, the city's sanitation department collected 3.2 million tons of waste. Nearly 13,000 tons of trash have been diverted from landfills so far, they said.
Green Building Elements - May 3 Developers in Austin, Texas are looking to build a 30-story mixed-use building in the heart of busy downtown without adding any additional parking. The building, called The Avenue, will not contain a parking garage or any other on-site parking, and is being billed as the first “truly car-free luxury development in downtown Austin.” Residents and visitors to the building’s shops and offices will be asked to use alternative transportation, or park somewhere else, when using the building’s facilities.
