The Cautionary Tale of Destiny USA and Green Bonds

I covered the messy breakdown of the Carousel/Destiny USA project, which was selected as a green demonstration project under the 2004 Green Bonds program. I've also written at length about creating effective green incentives and regulations. For me, the most interesting part of this debacle is what it reveals about a major green incentive program. Read More

The Art of Bumming Money for Green Projects from Uncle Sam

Obtaining financing for any project can be a challenge and securing it for a green building project has its own set of hurdles. Part 3 of Shari Shapiro's green financing series focuses on government incentives, which she warns could soon move from being rare birds to endangered species among financing mechanisms. Read More

The Top 10 Rules of Green Project Finance

Real estate finance forecasters believe 2011 will be a year to buy back into the real estate market. If their predictions come true, structuring financing for green building and renewable energy projects will still require more legal creativity and effort than financing more traditional projects.   Read More

High School Targeted in the First Appeal of a LEED Certification

Northland Pines High School in Wisconsin, the first public high school to receive a LEED-Gold rating, will go down in the annals of green building history as the target of the first third-party appeal of LEED certification. Are the parties disputing the certification needling naysayers or constructive critics? Read More

Finding Your Way Through the Tax Code Thicket to Gain Energy Project Credits

It should be easy to understand which tax codes apply to your firm's renewable energy projects and what the incentive will be. But as with all things related to the tax code, it is not. Here are tips on how to wade through the morass. Read More

Greenbashing — Greenwashing's More Evil Twin

By now, everyone has heard of greenwashing, but there's a new wave of anti-environmental action that is more devious and potentially more destructive: greenbashing. Read More

AAC: A Concrete Reason Why You Can't Have a Bullet-Proof Home in California

We all know how important it is to live in a green -- not to mention bullet-proof -- structure, so one would think that a progressive state like California would allow for the use of autoclaved aerated concrete. Not so. The situation is illustrative of the issues that accompany incorporating new materials into traditional building codes. Read More