Energy.gov

The City of Phoenix has had energy standards for public buildings in place since 2005. In June 2005, the Phoenix City Council adopted a policy requiring all new city buildings built with 2006 bond funds to at least meet the LEED Certified level.

Through a partnership with Arizona State University and Arizona Public Service (APS), the City of Phoenix is providing incentives for businesses located along a 10-mile stretch of the Metro light rail to improve the energy efficiency of their buildings. The city will match most [http://www.aps.com/main/services/SolutionsForBusiness/default.html rebates] provided by APS.

See program website above for complete details.

The city of Phoenix was awarded a $25 million federal grant from the U.S. Department of Energy Better Buildings Neighborhood Program and the American Recovery and Reinvestment Act (ARRA) to launch the Energize Phoenix program in partnership with Arizona State University and with support from Arizona Public Service. The Energize Phoenix program saves energy, creates jobs and will transform a diverse array of neighborhoods along a 10-mile stretch of the Metro light rail.

In 2008, the Phoenix City Council approved a renewable energy goal for the city. The city aims for 15% of the electricity used by the city to come from renewable energy sources by 2025. This goal mirrors Arizona's Renewable Energy Standard of 15% of electricity from renewable energy by 2025. The city plans to achieve this goal through renewable energy installations that are either city-owned or city-sponsored, primarily through public-private partnerships. The city council will periodically review progress towards meeting the goal and will set milestones to track progress.

Scottsdale’s Green Building Program, established in 1998, was the first such program in Arizona with an emphasis on residential home construction. It was developed to encourage environmentally responsible building in the Sonoran Desert region by incorporating healthy, resource- and energy-efficient materials and methods in the design and construction of homes. The program’s goals are to reduce the environmental impact of building; achieve both short and long-term savings of energy, water and other natural resources; and encourage a healthier indoor environment.

In 2005, Scottsdale approved a green building policy for new city buildings and remodels. The resolution requires all new, occupied city buildings of any size to be designed, contracted and built to achieve certification by the U.S. Green Building Council's Leadership in Energy and Environmental Design (LEED) Program at the "Gold" certification level as long as there is a payback period of no more than five years for projects designed to the Gold Standard.

The City of Tucson passed Resolution No. 20193 on September 27, 2005, to encourage the installation of solar energy systems throughout the city. The resolution established a policy whereby the director of the Department of Planning and Development Services will waive the fee paid by an applicant for a permit for the installation of a qualifying solar system up to $1,000 for a single installation, or $5,000 for a subdivision or multiple project sites. Other resolutions have since been passed to maintain this permit fee waiver after its expiration.

Tucson adopted an ordinance in June 2008 that requires all new single-family homes and duplexes in Tucson to be "solar-ready." The ordinance was developed by a stakeholder group which included Technicians for Sustainability, the Tucson Association of Realtors, the Sierra Club, the Southern Arizona Homebuilders Association, architectural professionals, solar energy companies and elements of the city government.

''Note: Much of the information presented in this summary is drawn from the U.S. Department of Energy’s (DOE) Building Energy Codes Program and the Building Codes Assistance Project (BCAP). For more detailed information about building energy codes, visit the [http://www.energycodes.gov/states/ DOE] and [http://bcap-ocean.org/ BCAP] web sites.''

The mayor and city council of Chandler, AZ adopted Resolution 4199 in June 2008, establishing incentives for green building in the private sector. Permit applications for buildings registered with the US Green Building Council's (USGBC) Leadership in Energy and Environmental Design (LEED) for New Construction, Core and Shell, Commercial Interiors or Schools, which are pursuing a certification level of Silver or higher will be granted an expedited plan review from the city.