See, for example, building permit rebates for home improvements that meet Energy Star guidelines. Select City Departments, then Permits on the City of Falcon Heights website
For example, Oakdale's Generation Green program awards participating businesses a 15% reduction in building permit fees.
For example, the City of St. Louis Park uses the Minneapolis-based Center for Energy and Environment to provide free remodeling advice for residents
List of green building frameworks, which include codes, standards, rating systems with certification and guidelines with verification.
Incentives include lower interest loans, lowered building or equipment permit fees; note what improvements/equipment qualify and if a revolving loan fund was used. Private parties include builders, homeowners, businesses, institutions. Report renewable energy financing programs such as PACE under action 26.3
Incentives include a utility-bill payment option, grants, rebates or tax breaks (e.g., property tax abatement) or expedited permit review.
Provide a density bonus or green building design assistance, or provide incentives for using a green building framework.
Implementation details: Shoreview Home Energy Improvement Loan available for new roof and energy upgrades to the home that include energy efficient heating and cooling systems, additional or replacement insulation, energy efficient replacement windows, doors, energy efficient water heaters.
*A density bonus of up to five percent may begiven to developments that use passive energy systems on at least 80 percent of the dwelling units. And a density bonus of up to ten percent may be given to all energy systems for space heating, air conditioning, and/or domestic hot water heating on at least 30 percent of the dwellings/developments that use active energy systems.
Implementation details: The City of Maple Grove has set aside approximately $60,000 in grant money for new construction homes that acheive a HERS rating of 40 or below. Maximum grant is $20,000 for a home with a HERS of 0 and goes down proportionally from there.
Outcome measures/metrics: 1 home has participated in the challenge and we continually are working to bring more builders into the process.
Implementation details: Generation Green is a voluntary initiative program for the creation of Energy
Efficient, Carbon Reducing buildings. Any new or majorly renovated building will enjoy expedited plan review and a 15% reduction in building permit fees immediately with the application approval from the Inspection department. Any LEED Certified buildings will receive 20%-25% off building permit fees, depending on the certification.
Implementation details: RPU designed their Partnering in Energy Solutions program to connect commercial customers with expert resources, Energy Solutions Partners (ESPs), to help ensure businesses are operating efficiently and/or building efficiently. RPUs ESPs will:
" Analyze current energy usage and future needs.
" Propose cost-cutting changes in energy usage, as well as energy efficient upgrades and equipment.
" Provide payback analyses of suggested improvements.
" Assist with the purchase and/or implementation of suggested improvements.
" List and apply for all available RPU Conserve & Save® rebates.
RPU promotes green building practices through its Conserve & Save® program, provides rebates, and also offers Green Financing to commercial customers. Green Financing is available for costs to obtain a customers building certification in EnergyStar®, LEED® or Green Globes.
For more information on RPUs Conserve & Save® programs visit www.rpu.org.
For more information contact: Tony Benson (City staff) | tbenson@rpu.org | 507-280-1534
Implementation details: The city has implemented a building permit fee rebate program when Energy Star rated improvements are installed (including water related appliances).
Outcome measures/metrics: Upon verification by the city's building inspector, 50% of the building permit fee is returned to the homeowner if qualified improvements are installed.
Implementation details: A building inspector for the City Maplewood is working Internation Code Council to modify our building ordiance to the new ICC 700 green building standard. This standard provides incentives to private parties who renovates to a green building standard.
The city inspector has also taught classes at the U of M on the new green building standard.
Implementation details: The city is also participating in the Small Cities Development Program to assist local businesses and residents to make energy upgrades (roofing, siding, windows, insulation, new furnaces, etc.). We partnered with the cities of Little Falls and Pierz so a total of 21 homes and 9 businesses in the area can make their homes/businesses more energy efficient. Some of the money is a 0% loan, some 1% and another portion is up to the business/home owner. Money repaid goes into a revolving loan fund in the city to help others make energy improvements.
Outcome measures/metrics: The 1% loan on the commercial buildings comes back to the cities as a revolving loan for the purpose of future energy upgrades for other businesses in the cities. It complements the existing revolving loan funds the cities offer to its businesses.
For more information contact: Andrea Lauer (Elected official) | mayor@royaltonmn.com | 320-630-2229
Implementation details: The City’s Woodbury Goes Green Loan encourages sustainable and energy-efficient green building practices in the City of Woodbury. Low interest loans up to $5,000 are available to qualified families who earn no more than 115 percent of the median income, capped at $90,000 per household. Eligible improvements include new high-efficiency furnaces or water heaters, improved insulation, new windows with better insulation and efficiency than existing windows and other improvements as pre-approved by the City of Woodbury Housing and Redevelopment Authority. This program may be combined with the Woodbury Home Improvement Fund if applicant households meet the criteria of both programs.
The Local Energy Efficiency Policy Calculator estimates impacts of adopting one or more of 7 energy efficiency policies (for existing public buildings and existing residential buildings) on energy savings, cost savings, pollution, jobs, and other outcomes over a time period set by the user, who inputs data regarding local energy and economic characteristics and level of investment.
Green retrofitting not only can help cities achieve real and meaningful reductions in greenhouse gas emissions, it will also create new, "green" jobs for blue-collar workers.
Investments in retrofits can produce immediate economic impact, as most of the money is spent on labor costs for workers who tend to spend this money locally and increase its multiplier effect: $1 million spent on retrofits creates between 8 and 11 jobs and generates about $300,000 in taxes, according to estimates.
According to Energy Efficiency: Engine of Economic Growth (Environment Northeast: 2009), all the money that government agencies, utility companies, and others are spending on efficiency programs not only saves energy, it pumps cash back into the economy - from $6 to $8.50 for every $1 spent.
A mass retrofit of single-family homes could make a huge dent in greenhouse gas emissions: These homes are responsible for 38 percent of all building energy use and 73 percent of all residential use.
Even simple changes to routine building maintenance can have significant impact. For example, painting 1,000 sq. feet of roof white to create a cool roof is estimated to reflect enough sunlight to counteract the warming effects of 10 tons of carbon dioxide. See the Roof Savings Calculator linked to from the Energy Star Roof products page. Light-colored pavement also reflects sunlight; see A Practical Guide to Cool Roofs and Cool Pavements (Global Cool Cities Alliance: 2012).
OPTIONAL for all cities
Category B and C cities that choose to implement this best practice must complete at least one action.
Category A cities that choose to implement this best practice must complete at least two actions.
summary
In virtually every city the number of existing buildings dwarfs the number of new buildings being built every year. This huge stock of existing buildings, most of which were not designed for resource efficiency, offer many opportunities to make sustainability improvements. Even buildings that are relatively new frequently present a number of economically beneficial opportunities for efficiency upgrades, which help meet greenhouse reduction goals and also pay for themselves in reduced operating costs. Moreover, buildings with high energy efficiency and whole-building optimization improve occupant quality of life, employee productivity, and have a higher resale value.
Peter Berger, Guaranteed Energy Savings Program Manager, MN Dep. of Commerce, Division of Energy Resources, for assessment and financing of energy improvements: 651/296-2459, peter.berger@state.mn.us, http://tinyurl.com/azktby2
connection to state Policy
Energy utilities are required to demonstrate annual efficiency or conservation reductions under the 2007 Legislature's Next Generation Energy Act.
Every public water utility serving more than 1,000 people must adopt a conservation rate structure or a uniform rate structure combined with demand reduction methods by January 2015.
Every water utility must create a capacity use plan and verify that there is enough water to meet projected needs out 25 years in the metro area and out 10 years beyond the metro.
no. 2 
Best Practice Action 6
