Consulting-Specifying Engineer - March 2009 - (Page 9) In The News Stimulus package clears the path for renewable energy NEWS AT A GLANCE •The largest annual commercial lighting trade show and conference, LIGHTFAIR International (LFI), celebrates its 20-year anniversary in May. For two decades, LFI has been North America’s leading lighting resource, featuring manufacturers, innovators, designers, and educators. LFI encompasses more than 500 exhibiting companies—78 of which are international. LIGHTFAIR International 2009 is expected to attract more than 21,000 attendees from across the globe to its upcoming event. LFI will take place May 3 to 7, 2009 at the Jacob K. Javits Convention Center in New York, NY. Visit www.lightfair.com for more information. • RSMeans Business Solutions, recently conducted a study to determine how quickly the construction industry is embracing BIM. The study discovered that the rate of adoption has increased significantly over the last year. Out of the offices sampled that use BIM, 96% indicated theey had adopted it in the past 12 months. For more information visit www.smartbim.com. P resident Obama’s economic stimulus package gave a boost to the renewable-energy sector. The package addressed a crucial tax issue that had previously stalled projects nationwide. The American Recovery and Reinvestment Act will invest nearly $79 billion in renewable energy, energy efficiency, and green transportation. Although it could take several months for the legislation to get portions of the industry moving again, solar and wind companies are preparing themselves. Renewable energy companies praise a piece of the legislation that allows developers of renewableenergy projects to swap their existing tax credits for cash grants from the DOE. The legislation will remove a major financing obstacle that has continued to stall the sector. Although it means little to taxpayers, the impact for these companies looms large, since the success of solar and wind projects is driven by tax policy. Relying on tax credits to generate competitive returns and attract investors during an economic meltdown has proven increasingly difficult over the recent months. Since the tax breaks are used to offset tax liability, a project developer needs to be making a big profit in order to take full advantage. However, many renewable-energy companies do not have a tax bill that large, so they inevitably end up partnering with financial institutions. The system worked until the nation’s banking system was devastated by the subprime mortgage crisis. Large commercial banks and investment houses that had bankrolled billions in wind and solar deals suddenly were losing money quicker than they were making it. Major financiers no longer had a so-called tax appetite for renewable-energy deals. Some notable provisions of the recovery act include: • $5 billion for weatherization of more than one million homes • $8 billion f or new high-speed rail systems • $4.5 billion for energy upgrades at federal buildings • $4.5 billion in federal matching funds to upgrade the nation’s energy grid Omitted from the legislation was a renewable portfolio standard. Sought by environmentalists, this type of standard would force utilities nationwide to boost their use of clean energy. California already has adopted such a policy. The standard was opposed by legislators from states that are heavily dependant on low-cost coal. LEED AP exam registration deadline is March 31 arch 31, 2009, at 11:59 p.m. (Eastern Time) is the deadline for LEED Accredited Professional (AP) candidates to register for the LEED AP credentialing exams with the Green Building Certification Institute. Those interested can register at www.gbci.org. As part of the new LEED 2009 system, the LEED NC designation will be replaced with the LEED Building Design and Construction (BD&C) designation, and the LEED CI designation will be replaced by LEED Interior Design and Construction (ID&C). Prometric, the company that manages the EVENTS • May 3-7: LIGHTFAIR International 2009, Jacob K. Javits Convention Center, New York City. • April 1-2: GLOBALCON 2009— Energy, Power, and Facility Management Strategies and Technologies, featuring Northeast Green, Atlantic City Convention Center, FOR MORE NEWS STORIES GO TO: M Atlantic City, N.J. actual testing for the LEED AP exams, will still offer scheduling and rescheduling services for the current LEED NC and LEED CI version 2.0 AP exam registrations after the March 31, 2009, registration deadline, with more specific information to announced later in 2009, but actual registration has to occur before the aforementioned date. In order to maintain alignment with the new LEED 2009 Ratings System for BD&C and ID&C, GBCI will not accept new exam registrations for the current LEED CI and LEED NC exams after March 31, 2009. WWW.CSEMAG.COM 9 Consulting-Specifying Engineer • MARCH 2009 9 http://www.lightfair.com http://www.smartbim.com http://www.gbci.org
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