Environment
Green Building Movement Yielding Tax Incentives
(archrecord.construction.com - 08/07/2006)
By Sam
Lubell
Green-building proponents have had some
success convincing government builders to embrace energy-efficiency
standards; the GSA mandate for new LEED-certified construction
is a case in point. Now the movement is infiltrating policy-making,
as different governmental bodies float tax incentives for
sustainable private development.
The Energy Policy Act of 2005 offers
federal tax credits of $1.80 per square foot on all projects
that meet ASHRAE standards. And according to previous legislation,
businesses can receive up to 10 percent tax credits for employing
solar and geothermal technologies. The Department of Energy
also hands out several grants for businesses that experiment
with new energy-efficient technologies.
At the state level, Maryland, New York,
Oregon, and Pennsylvania offer green-building tax incentives.
New York, the first state to have implemented these programs,
will give away $25 million between 2005 and 2009: Buildings
that meet state standards, which are very similar to LEED
ratings, will be credited for 7 to 8 percent of allowable
costs over five years, with a cap of $150 per square foot
for the base building and $75 per square foot for the tenant
space.
Chicago and Seattle are also providing
noteworthy tax incentives. Chicago is giving $5,000 grants
to small businesses that build green roofs, and Seattle is
giving $15,000 in incentive funding to businesses that build
buildings which become LEED-certified. In general, says Paul
Mendelsohn, AIA’s senior director for state and local
affairs, cities have made greater strides in promoting green
building because their smaller constituencies are less divided
on the issue.
But these efforts still have a long
way to go, Mendelsohn says, adding that business leaders are
blocking more progressive measures because they still presume
green building is costlier.
Among other attempts to further
green the government, one piece of legislation pending in
Congress would extend the Energy Policy Act’s tax credits
beyond their current 2007 end date. The AIA also supports
more green building-related legislation still pending in congress,
such as the Enhanced Energy Security Act of 2006, which calls
for greater and longer-lasting tax incentives for commercial
green building than those the 2005 law provides. This also
includes the High-Performance Green Building Act of 2006,
which would require the government to establish green building
standards for all federal facilities; and the Green Energy
Education Act of 2006 (H.R.5644), according to which the curricula
of architectural and engineering schools would focus on advanced
energy and green building technologies.
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