California Establishes Statewide Green Building Requirements
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Category: EnergyType: News
Source: US Department of Energy (Biomass)
Date: Wednesday, July 23rd, 2008
The California Building Requirements Commission adopted on July 17 a statewide green building code, which the state claims as a 1st in the nation. The new California Green Building Requirements Code contains Requirements for single-family homes, health facilities, and commercial buildings and will encourage builders to reduce the energy use of their structures to 15% below the energy use that is achieved with the state's mandatory energy efficiency standards. The Requirements also address onsite renewable energy use, water consumption, green building materials, indoor air quality, and other measures. The new Requirements will become mandatory for housing in 2010 but are currently optional for all buildings, allowing time for the building industry and local building code officials to adjust to the new standards. After 2010, the green building Requirements will be updated annually. See the press release (PDF 20 KB) from the California State and Consumer Services Agency and the Green Building Requirements Code on the Building Requirements Commission Web site. Download Adobe Reader.
California may also be the 1st state to launch a map-based directory of state-owned facilities that have achieved or are pursuing LEED certification from the U.S. Green Building Council. LEED stands for Leadership in Energy and Environmental Design and is one of the leading green building certification programs in the country. Under an executive order signed by Governor Schwarzenegger in 2004, all new and renovated state-owned facilities must meet LEED Silver certification requirements, the third-highest level of certification available. You can check the state's progress in a Google Maps interface or view an Excel spreadsheet of the state's green building data. See the Green Building Directory.
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