Sustainable Development Focus
Proud Green Building - Oct 20 The Santa Monica City Council voted this week to approve an ordinance requiring all new single-family construction in the city to be zero-net energy (ZNE), the first of its kind in the world. The ordinance now goes to the California Energy Commission for approval and continues the city's long history of adopting local requirements, and providing resources to the community, that take a global lead in advancing the transition to high performance, green buildings for all. There are various definitions for ZNE buildings but Santa Monica is adopting the definition used in the 2016 California Green Building Standards Code (CALGreen). According to CALGreen, a ZNE building is one where the value of energy produced on-site by renewable energy resources is equal to the value of the energy consumed annually by the building.
Urban Land - Oct 31 American suburbs can be developed into more walkable, sustainable places to rival urban ones and potentially satisfy the changing needs of all generations, panelists said at the ULI Fall Meeting in Dallas. Jobs, office space, and urban-like density have arisen in the “suburban downtown” communities in places such as Tysons Corner in northern Virginia and Walnut Creek in California, panelists noted. Office buildings in the suburban downtowns, walkable places with retailers, restaurants, and transit offerings, have attracted the attention of institutional investors. Suburban office buildings not located in a walkable downtown are not favored by major investors, according to the Emerging Trends in Real Estate® 2017 report released at the Fall Meeting by ULI and PwC.
ABC News - Oct 29 Further broadening its reach beyond electric cars, Tesla Motors says it's going to sell solar roof tiles that are customizable and meant to look like a traditional roof. The energy-generating tiles would be a joint product with SolarCity, although the two companies have yet to complete a proposed merger. The glass tiles, which come in four styles, contain photovoltaic cells that Tesla says are invisible from the street. They're meant to power a home when integrated with Tesla's Powerwall, energy storage units for homes that are mounted on the wall or kept on the ground.
Solar Industry Magazine - Oct 31 New York-based utility Con Edison has proposed a pilot program to build solar arrays on its company-owned building rooftops and properties to make renewable energy available to low-income customers, a residential sector that has little access to the burgeoning rooftop solar market. According to Con Edison, there would be no cost to low-income participants, who could realize savings of up to $60 per year. The company said in a regulatory filing with the New York State Public Service Commission that it can build up to 11 megawatts of solar generation over five years on more than 40 of its company facility rooftops and other properties in New York City and Westchester County. Con Edison estimates that the solar power generated from its facilities could serve 3,000 to 6,000 customers who are in the company’s low-income bill assistance program.
