City of Phoenix Launches Greening Greater Phoenix Initiative

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This is an approach to economic development that would be worth giving some thought to here in Northern New Brunswick; it might be wind rather than solar that would drive the project ; this could be a winner.

The Greening Greater Phoenix Initiative is a joint initiative by Greater Phoenix Economic Council (GPEC) and SolarCity to encourage green businesses to locate in Phoenix and make Maricopa County the greenest in the US.

The City of Phoenix, City of Scottsdale and the City of Surprise (who's on first? no really, their name is Surprise) are all joining in the initiative by adopting renewable energy and green building standards city-wide.

The Greening Greater Phoenix Initiative is encouraging more green businesses such as solar and clean technology, green building, renewable energy and other green industry organizations.

SolarCity, as part of the program, will be hosting 6 seminars in Phoenix, Scottsdale and Surprise on September 20 and 27, which will be open to the public. Representatives will be on hand to talk about solar installations, particularly on residential buildings, as well as government rebates and cost savings. In addition, as part of the kickoff there is a 2008 GreenSummit Conference, September 5-6 in the Phoenix Convention Center.

Phoenix adopted a renewable energy goal of sourcing 15% of city power from renewable sources by 2025. Also, all 16 city buildings constructed in 2006 were built to basic LEED standards.

The City of Scottsdale's Green Building Program, which began in 1998 as a voluntary program to encourage inclusion of green practices. As of 2005, its now mandatory that all new buildings in Scottsdale meet at least LEED Gold Standards.

The City of Surprise also has its own green initiative, including cracking down on water wasters and an air pollution PM-10 program to reduce dust particulates from the air.