Stimulating the Economy through Green Building Investments

In “What One Stimulus Buck Could Do,” Mother Jones magazine advances the ideas of Santa Fe-based architect Edward Mazria. After duly noting that the building sector accounts for the largest portion of energy consumption in the U.S. economy (buildings guzzle about three-quarters of the nation's electricity and half of our overall energy), the article highlights Mazria's proposals.

Mazria is promoting an alternative for municipal use of stimulus money. Under his plan a city stimulates green retrofits and renovations by local homeowners and businesses. “If you refinance your home or building, the city pays the bank percentage points up front to get you a lower interest rate. In exchange, you'll make efficiency upgrades—installing better windows, insulation, a more efficient furnace, PV panels, on-demand water heaters, whatever. The more efficient the upgrade, the more the city pays down the interest rate.”

The plan would provide a spark across many fields in addition to the benefits to the property owner,

“Local builders and banks get a shot in the arm, as do engineers, architects, and producers of building materials. New markets emerge for energy-efficient products. Contractors get back to work and fewer people lose their homes and go on the dole. All told, Mazria says, that remodel will have doubled to tripled the value of the city's stimulus dollar; for new construction, the city would see a 25-fold effect. (The 14x figure assumes a ratio of 70 percent renovation to 30 percent new building.) The resulting boom in construction-related spending also means higher tax revenues at all levels of government.”

Several cities are considering this approach for their stimulus proposals. And banks have also indicated support.

For more information, see www.motherjones.com/politics/2009/05/what-one-stimulus-buck-could-do