LIPA Chairman Richard M. Kessel Commends Babylon’s Green Building Initiative
Mr. Kessel Urges all Towns and Villages to Adopt a Green Building Ordinance
Babylon, NY—December 4, 2006—On Wednesday, November 26th, Long Island
Power Authority Chairman (LIPA) Richard M. Kessel addressed the Town of
Babylon’s Green Building Ordinance hearing and declared his enthusiastic support
for the Town of Babylon’s proposed ordinance.
“LIPA is very pleased and encouraged by the forward thinking of the Town of
Babylon,” said LIPA Chairman Richard M. Kessel. “Babylon is taking the most
important first steps towards ensuring that Babylon will be energy efficient and
environmentally responsible while providing significant long-term savings for
Babylon residents.”
Town of Babylon Supervisor Steve Bellone recently proposed sweeping changes
to the Town's building code that will require all new industrial, commercial and
multi-residential structures above 4,000sf to be built green. Under the new
code, the first in the Northeast region, each new building will be required to
meet the United States Green Building Council's Leadership in Energy and
Environmental Design (LEED) Certified status. The new standards, which will be
phased in over a year's time will minimally increase construction costs, while
helping to significantly reduce greenhouse gas emissions, lower energy costs and
reduce our reliance on fossil fuels.
In August of this year, Babylon became the first town on Long Island, in
partnership with the Town of Brookhaven, to mandate that all new homes be
constructed in accordance with
Energy Star standards.
During his presentation Mr. Kessel recommended that LIPA work with the Town
of Babylon to establish a formal process for the permitting of commercial
construction projects. Mr. Kessel also suggested that all commercial building
applications in the Town of Babylon should be forwarded to LIPA so that LIPA can
work one on one with the developers ensuring that they design the most efficient
buildings they can while receiving rebates through the Clean Energy Initiative.
To date LIPA has rebated three construction projects that will be processed
for LEED certification. LIPA is also working with four additional projects that
are still in the design phase which will apply for LEED’s certification as well.
The LEEDS Certification was developed by the U.S. Green Building Council, the
LEED (Leadership in Energy and Environmental Design) Green Building Rating
System™ is a voluntary, consensus-based national standard for developing
high-performance, sustainable buildings. LEED provides a framework for assessing
building performance and meeting sustainability goals. Based on well-founded
scientific standards, LEED emphasizes state of the art strategies for
sustainable site development, water savings, energy efficiency, materials
selection and indoor environmental quality.
For more information on LIPA’s electric conservation and efficiency programs,
visit www.lipower.org. |
