Industry
News
Green Building Council and Booz Allen
Hamilton, green building will support or
create 7. 9 million jobs between 2009 and
2013 and will contribute $554 billion to
the U.S. gross domestic product. The study
also determined that green construction
spending currently supports more than
2 million American jobs and generates
more than $100 billion in gross domes-
tic product and wages. The full study
can be downloaded at www.usgbc.org/
greeneconomy.
U.K. Experts Call for More
District Heating Support
The U.K. Green Building Council
and the Zero-Carbon Hub released a
new report Feb. 18 pointing to community solutions as the way forward
for building the sustainable infrastructure needed in the U.K. for a low-
carbon future. The report, Sustainable
Community Infrastructure, highlights
district heating as having a key role to
play in realizing that future but says that
much greater support for the technology
is needed from central and local governments. As a starting point, the study
calls on governments to commit to signing up their own buildings for district
heating service.
In addition to district energy, the
study noted that community-scale water
systems, waste disposal and waste reuse
can also contribute to more sustainable
infrastructure. To read the full report, go
to http://tinyurl.com/yhbg44w.
Colebrook, N.H., Weighs
District Heating
The town of Colebrook, N.H.,
(population 2,300) is considering the
development of district heating as a
solution to bring down energy costs and
help transform the grim local economy.
Local National Public Radio affiliate
WRVO aired a story Feb. 19 on the
possibility of district heating coming to
Colebrook. The report stated that nearly
one in four Colebrook residents lacks
a full-time job and that local leaders
hope more affordable energy could help
attract new businesses to the area. The
town envisions building a system that
would burn low-grade wood fuel from
surrounding forests with 90 percent
efficiency. Jerry Pittman of NRG Energy
Center Minneapolis was quoted in the
story, explaining how district energy
systems require the density of customer
of buildings to be cost-effective. To
listen to this radio report, go to WRVO’s
Web site at http://tinyurl.com/ydl8bal.
