"Today's passage of the Green Bonds amendment is a great victory for renewable and energy-efficient technologies," Allard says. "These bonds will facilitate the building of cutting-edge, environmentally friendly projects throughout the United States."
Green Bonds make tax-exempt financing available to projects that meet a variety of stringent environmental, renewable energy and energy-efficiency requirements.
These requirements include brownfield redevelopment, sustainable design and compliance with the US Green Building Council's Leadership in Energy and Environmental Design guidelines, among others.
In order to ensure that the project is a visible demonstration of green building and renewable energy technology, it must be of substantial size and scope.
The proposal requires projects to include at least 1 million sf of building, or 20 acres. Each project must demonstrate that it will create at least 1,500 permanent jobs and 1,000 construction jobs. Projects from around the country will compete for Green Bond designation by the EPA. Those selected will have the opportunity to demonstrate green construction techniques and renewable energy technology on a large and visible scale.
"The Green Bonds program has tremendous potential to showcase the viability of today's environmentally friendly materials and techniques on a large scale," Allard adds. "The projects in this program will set the bar for energy efficiency and sustainability for years to come."
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