Going solar in Newport News, VA

In June of 2000, Austin passed Resolution No. 000608-43, mandating that all newly constructed dwellings must be built to conform with the U.S. Green Building Council Leadership in Energy and Environmental Design (LEED) Silver. This policy was further revised and enhanced in November 2007 under Resolution No. 20071129-045 to set two additional criteria for instigating the LEED Silver requirement for both new construction and major renovations. Likewise, home renovations smaller in scope but costing $300,000 or more and requiring work in the LEED energy and atmosphere, material and resources, must, at a minimum, necessarily achieve LEED Silver certification.

In Virginia, renewable energy customers may enroll in net metering contracts to receive compensation for using their generation equipment. Net metering is standardized for private and cooperative electric utilities, but not for local public utilities. Upon approval of a customer's net metering application, their utility will install a bidirectional meter onto the system to measure net excess generation (NEG) sent back to the grid. Customers will be compensated per kW of NEG at a fixed avoided-cost rate. Fees may apply depending on system capacity and jurisdiction. Additional information is available from individual utilities.

In Virginia, local and county governments may choose to promote solar energy adoption and recycling equipment through property tax incentives. Participating localities may implement either partial or total exemptions on any equipment used to generate, store, or distribute solar power or energy for heating/cooling. Any solar PV and active/passive water or space heater may qualify. Additional information is available from local governments.

Over the roughly the last two decades, The City of Austin instituted several ambitious energy efficiency codes, policies, and programs. In February 2007, its city council signed into law the Austin Climate Protection Plan that promoted the drafting of a wide diversity of new building codes intended to reduce energy consumption in new single-family homes by 65% and other buildings both private and public, by 75%. Prior to this, Austin introduced the first green building program in the U.S. with the Austin Energy Green Building (AEGB) that proposed a five-star rating system for assessing energy efficiency. While buildings must meet the prescriptive code requirements of the 2015 International Energy Conservation Code, Chapter 4, regarding the Commercial rating, meeting the series of Basic Requirements (required for all AEGB rated projects) are considered voluntary.