Siting of Renewable Energy Facilities Within the Montachusett and North Middlesex Regions
LEED Certification Introduction As a voluntary certification program for buildings, homes and communities, Leadership in Energy and Environmental Design (LEED), provides third-party verification of green buildings. Beginning in March 2000, the goal of the LEED Certification program was to conserve energy and water, reduce landfill waste and greenhouse gas emissions and provide a healthier and safer indoor environment for occupants. The program is run through the U.S Green Building Council (USGBC), which is a 501(c)(3) nonprofit organization “committed to a prosperous and sustainable future for our nation through cost- efficient and energy-saving green buildings”. To date USGBC has 77 chapters, 13,000 member companies and organizations, and more than 181,000 professionals who hold LEED credentials as of June 2014. 117 According to USGBC, LEED is “the most widely recognized and widely used green building program across According to USGBC, LEED v4 the globe”. Today, there are more than 53,000 LEED will “open up LEED to a wider projects, comprising more than 10.1 billion square feet of range of building types and construction space. USCBC claims that by becoming LEED manufacturing industries, certified, buildings can experience lower operating costs delivering the benefits of green building up and down the supply and increased asset values, and can become qualified for chain. It will advance tax rebates, zoning allowances, and other incentives. 118 environmental footprint issues, LEED Certification can be pursued across a variety of like climate change, and encourage optimization of industries and sectors, and through its implementation, energy and water use.” can promote economic growth in the clean energy, biotechnology, nanotechnology, and green business sectors.
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