Boosting energy efficiency in housing is focus of new state initiative
TRENTON, N.J. (The Associated Press) - May 3 - By ANGELA DELLI SANTI Associated Press Writer
 

    New Jersey is hoping to show it's easy being green.

    Green as in energy efficient, that is.

    The Department of Community Affairs was scheduled to announce a new statewide initiative Wednesday to encourage energy-efficient housing and use of renewable energy sources in new commercial and residential buildings and affordable housing units.

    The stepped-up effort comes at an opportune time as the nation grapples with alarmingly high fuel costs and follows Gov. Jon S. Corzine's recent executive order to increase energy efficiency in state government.

    "In some sense, we have no choice but to do this," said DCA Commissioner Susan Bass Levin. "New Jersey is the most crowded, congested state, very dependent on foreign oil - long-term it brings down the cost of utilities."

    The DCA Green Task Force will develop a how-to guide for "green building" to include recommendations on roofing, insulation and other building materials that are energy efficient, Levin said. Another goal is to ensure that building codes are sensitive to such measures, she said.

    The group will also look for ways to expand two existing programs within DCA, building environmentally friendly affordable housing and generating renewable energy using solar power:

    -Affordable Green provides incentive grants for building affordable housing units, Levin said, and encourages use of energy-efficient materials and technologies. It is responsible for more than 2,400 units being constructed in the past five years. Bass Levin said the task force will be looking to apply similar building principles to special needs housing, eventually requiring it to be built to green standards.

    -The Meadowlands Commission recently unveiled a plan to generate enough solar energy to serve 2,800 homes and reduce energy costs for area towns and schools.

    The Green Task Force will include representatives of the Meadowlands Commission as well as DCA's Housing and Codes divisions, the Home Mortgage Finance Agency, the New Jersey Redevelopment Authority, Board of Public Utilities, Department of Environmental Protection and the Treasurer's Office.

    For far more extensive news on the energy/power visit:  http://www.energycentral.com .

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