Now for some good news. Today the Oregon Public Utility Commission (OPUC) issued an important decision giving a green light to companies seeking to own and operate solar and wind-powered distributed generation facilities. Third-party ownership of renewable distributed generation—especially solar—has really taken off in the past few years because it allows a utility customer to enjoy the benefits of on-site renewable energy, but pay the facility owner only for the electricity generated by the facility.
Continue Reading Oregon Public Utility Commission Gives Green Light to Third-party Ownership Model for Distributed Generation
Sustainable Development
Green Building Standards Adopted in California
By Allison Smith on
Posted in Sustainable Development
The California Building Standards Commission has adopted the nation’s first state-wide Green Building Standards Code. California’s new green building standards will be phased in from 2009 to 2011 and include provisions on:
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Energy efficiency
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Water efficiency and conservation
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Use of recycled and sustainable materials in construction
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Recycling of construction waste
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Indoor air quality
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A Darker Shade of Green: Stoel Rives Announces Firmwide Sustainability Campaign
By William H. Holmes on
Our renewable energy team here at Stoel Rives has been a big fan of purchasing green power for years–we were one of the first US law firms to purchase green tags to offset a portion of the firm’s electricity use.
In 2008, we kicked off an even more ambitious firmwide GO GREEN campaign that goes beyond buying green power.