MSNBC Appearance Discussing Stimulus Money For Green
Many of my readers have requested a clip of Green Building Law Blog's appearance on MSNBC discussing the amount of stimulus funding going to green projects. The link is below:
How Green Is Your Stimulus--Year End Check In On Green Spending Under The ARRA
In July, I wrote an analysis of the “green” spending in the American Reinvestment and Recovery Act—ARRA, also known as the “stimulus bill.” I concluded that as of July the spending on green programs accounted for only .28% of the total allocation for those programs in the ARRA-- $33.2 million had been paid out for green stimulus programs, and an additional $307 million in public transit dollars.
So…where are we four months later? More money has been paid out--about $1.5 billion--but it pales in comparison to the $83.8 billion paid out in tax benefits as of 11/06/09, and spending on non-green projects.
Here are the stats in detail:
Energy Efficiency/Renewable Energy--Department of Energy
As of 7/17/09 the Department of Energy had paid out $264,457,144. $16,796,000 had been awarded for energy efficiency and renewable energy projects, of which $3,189,150 had actually been awarded. BOTTOM LINE IN JULY: $3 million
As of 11/06/09, the Department of Energy had paid out $1,346,197,498. $16,796,000 had been awarded for energy efficiency and renewable energy, of which $10,651,341,856 had actually been awarded, and $347,779,891 paid out. BOTTOM LINE IN NOVEMBER: $347.8 million.
Increase from July: $344.8 million.
High Performance Green Buildings--General Services Administration
As of 7/17/09 overall the GSA has paid out $12,743,040. of available $656,418,268 of which $6,807,468 has been paid out for federal buildings, which includes high performance building projects. According to the GSA, $4,500,000,000 was appropriated by Congress, $318,750,279 obligated to date (contracts awarded) and $230,771 outlayed to date (work completed & paid).
As of 10/06/09 overall the GSA has paid out $333,444,141, of which $67,324,333 been paid out for federal buildings, which includes high performance building projects.
Public Transit--Department of Transportation
As of 7/17/09 the DOT has paid out $773,662,175 of a total available $22,188,399,591. For rail and other transit funding, including Amtrak, obligations of $3,921,784,326.72, outlay of $306,918,718.00 (this includes state block grants). BOTTOM LINE IN JULY: $307 million in public transit funding outlaid as of 7/17/09.
As of 10/30/09 the DOT has paid out $5,551,384,466 out of a total available $30,514,836,708. For rail and other transit funding, including Amtrak, obligations of $7,539,142,781.45, outlay of $824,343,952.21 (this includes state block grants). BOTTOM LINE IN NOVEMBER: $824 million in public transit funding outlaid as of 10/30/09.
Increase from July: $517 million.
Everything the EPA Is Doing--Environmental Protection Agency
As of 7/17/09, EPA has paid out $30,515,805 of the $5,713,481,497 it was allocated. Assuming that all that the EPA does is in some way green related, and this is a big assumption on my part, as much of the EPA funds have been dedicates to water resources and cleanup of hazardous sites, that adds another $30 million. BOTTOM LINE IN JULY: $30 Million
As of 11/06/09, EPA has paid out $365,636,685. Assuming that all that the EPA does is in some way green related, and this is a big assumption on my part, as much of the EPA funds have been dedicates to water resources and cleanup of hazardous sites, that adds another $366 million. BOTTOM LINE IN NOVEMBER: $366 Million
Increase from July: $336 million.
So?
The overall spending—i.e. money that has been paid out for green projects—in the first 10 months of 2009 amounts to over $1.5 billion. This is not nothing, and a vast improvement from the summer. On the other hand, $83.8 billion has been paid out in tax benefits as of 11/06/09, and allocation on highway infrastructure by the Department of Transportation alone was $20.2 billion of which $3.7 billion has been paid out.
**A word about methodology--all of the above statistics were gleaned from Recovery.gov , the Recovery websites of the individual agencies, and my personal agency contacts. For the DOT recovery site, go here. For the GSA recovery site, go here. For the DOE recovery site, go here. For the EPA recovery site, go here. There is a wealth of information available, and I welcome any input or different statistical or mathematical analyses from the Green Building Law Community.**
Shari Shapiro On MSNBC
I know, I said I was going on maternity leave, but before I do so, I will appear on MSNBC tomorrow, November 17, 2009 at 2:30 E.S.T. to discuss green spending through the American Reinvestment and Recovery Act, also known as the stimulus bill. My original post on this topic is available here.
Maternity Leave
The time has come where I can no longer sit comfortably at my desk, meaning that Green Building Law Blog is going on maternity leave. I expect to post sporadically over the next couple of weeks until the baby arrives, and be off completely for December and January. Thanks to all my loyal readers and have a very happy holiday season.
All the best,
Shari
Shari Shapiro Appears On Ecoman And The Skeptic
Professors Rob Fleming and Chris Pastore, co-directors of Philadelphia University’s Engineering and Design Institute, an interdisciplinary research center focusing on green materials, sustainable design and community outreach, host a great radio show on sustianability, Ecoman and The Skeptic. I will appear on today's program at 11 am EST. You can listen to the show here.
When Good Regulations Go Bad
I have discussed many issues related to regulating green here at GBLB (for the Regulating Green best practices series, go here). Some communities seeking to regulate green building, clearly with the best of intentions, have gone astray. The most vivid examples of this were the Las Vegas green tax credit which threatened to bankrupt Nevada and the Albuquerque regulation which the City Solicitor failed to analyze for federal preemption issues. But small communities are not immune from regulatory snafus:
Recently, I came across a density bonus regulation for Madison, New Jersey. The regulation reads as follows (emphasis mine):
Maximum dwelling units per acre: 12 units per acre base density, with bonuses as follows:
(a) Incorporation of green building/design techniques to achieve at least a Silver level LEED-certified project: bonus of 10% over base density. (NOTE: The applicant shall demonstrate the ability to achieve this standard prior to receiving preliminary approval and shall commit to providing those systems, site improvements and design features consistent with Silver LEED certification.)
This regulation would be acceptable if the word "qualify" were substituted for "achieve." There is simply no way for an applicant to demonstrate their ability to achieve a certification which is in the hands of a third party agency at the outset of the project. Moreover, what design professional would be able to provide this type of guarantee?
The Madison, NJ example demonstrates the importance of a good understanding of the LEED system (or other certification system) before utilizing it in regulatory drafting. Design professionals need to be aware of the obligations they are assuming when a project seeks to comply with local regulations. Finally, project owners need to ensure that they can comply with the local regulations, or seek legally binding representations by the government entity ensuring that their efforts to comply are sufficient.
What The Christie Election Means For Green Building In New Jersey
On Tuesday, Chris Christie (R) was elected as Governor of New Jersey. His predecessor, Jon Corzine (D), instituted a number of programs through the state's administrative agencies to promote sustainable practices and green building. So, what does this change in administration mean for green building in New Jersey, a leader among states in promoting green practices?
Christie campaigned hard on issues like "controlling spending" and lowering New Jersey property taxes. He also proposed:
- Immediate freeze on proposed new agency rules and regulations.
- Sunset provisions for all new programs after 4 years.
This will mean that anything in the pipeline of the administrative agencies will be frozen, and new green programs will be automatically sunsetted.
Christie seems to be pro-renewable energy, campaigning that he will:
- Renew NJ and the Choose New Jersey Energy Campaign. Consolidate all renewable energy manufacturing efforts and have New Jersey undergo a brand makeover to market and sell New Jersey’s resources to energy producers, innovators and developers.
- Incentivize energy manufacturing with tax credits. 100% of the corporate business taxes or the insurance premium tax for any wind turbine and manufacturing facility that locates in New Jersey.
- New Jersey will create higher-paying clean energy production jobs in the next four years. Commit to a 5/1 ratio of higher-paying, clean energy production jobs to lower paying, efficiency jobs. While New Jersey has one of the strongest renewable portfolio standards in the country, according to the US Energy Information Administration, the state actually ranks 43rd when it comes to generating renewable energy.
The most interesting of these is "Commit to a 5/1 ratio of higher-paying, clean energy production jobs to lower paying, efficiency jobs."
It is energy efficiency jobs which are predominantly blue collar, easy entry to work jobs. And according to a recent McKinsey study, the economic and job vaue of energy efficiency has huge potential:
[B]etween 2009 and 2020, energy efficiency retrofits could generate between 500,000 and 750,000 direct, indirect and induced jobs through 2020.
Moreover, the low hanging fruit for energy savings and environmental stewardship--not to mention social equity--comes from energy efficiency, not renewable energy. According to the CleanTechies blog:
A study done by a Lawrence Berkeley National Laboratory scientist claimed that commissioning all of the nation’s commercial buildings would yield the greatest energy savings per dollar spent of any option, including wind and solar energy production. Commissioning involves fine tuning a building’s existing energy systems to improve performance and eliminate wasteful energy use.
Hopefully, a candidate who campaigned on the concept of fiscal responsibility will realize the value of investment in energy efficiency programs before putting all of New Jersey's eggs in the renewable energy incentive basket. Stay tuned...
Shari focuses on energy, environmental and building code policy, representing international companies, non-profits and trade associations in their policy and communications campaigns
