West Virginia GreenWorks, Inc.

WV GREENWORKS, INC.-The Beginning of a New Era

(WV GreenWorks, Inc. is in the process of applying for WV Incorporation and federal IRS 501 (c) (3) status.) We are still building the site so there is more to come!

The Council of the Southern Mountains obtained  start-up money to serve the energy needs of low-income families and individuals through an independent nonprofit organization called WV GreenWorks, Inc..  The needs of low-income consumers must now be met in the most cost effective manner by providers familiar with the intrinsic needs of West Virginia residents.  Services and resources must be enhanced to serve eligible individuals and their families and avoid the inefficient expenditure of assets on inefficient home building and rehabilitation.  “Green building and home rehabilitation strategies must be implemented so the meager financial resources available to individuals at poverty level are not squandered.  This proposal meets ROMA Goal 6, which states, “Low-income People, Especially Vulnerable Populations, Achieve Their Potential by Strengthening Family and Other Supportive Systems. 

The  catchment area of this project is the state of West Virginia with a state-wide Board of Directors made up of dedicated citizens with the common goal of bringing energy efficiency and best practices to home heating and energy efficiency for the low-income and all citizens through “green building.” 

Purpose

"Green Building" is a growing movement in a number of countries, namely in the USA, but other countries are experiencing similar developments towards sustainable buildings.

Building Green means that energy consumption, use of resources, impact on environment and on human health are considered and optimized during planning, construction, use and demolition - throughout the whole lifecycle of the building. This is also called sustainable building.

More and more public buildings and large office buildings are built green, but also some residential complexes, schools and hospitals are following the movement of sustainability. Motivation is either to raise quality and the sustainability of a building in general and to support environmental protection, or to contribute to Corporate Social Responsibility, or to facilitate marketing of the building with green performance.

There are no uniform criteria for what is considered to be "Green" or sustainable. The best known approach is LEED by US Green Building Council. This rating system has a list of criteria, and in the end there is either a judgment "in compliance" or "no compliance," or there are several performance levels.

WV GreenWorks Inc. must provide leadership in seeking increased levels of service for individuals due to the dramatic increases in the cost of heating and cooling homes.  These individuals, in addition to state building contractors, need skills and training that would lead to installation of the most cost effective, energy efficient and environmentally friendly systems that will allow targeted families the goal of dignity through self-reliance.  Green building techniques, in addition to educational practices and awareness campaigns are required for energy conservation, efficient utilization of energy and ultimately the full access to economic self-sufficiency by those at or near poverty levels.

WV GreenWorks, Inc. shall focus on creating alternative building and rehabilitaiton procedures, education and efficient energy utilization for eligible consumers.  The “Green Movement” is quickly spreading across the United States as well as the world and the citizens of West Virginia deserve no less.   The process of educational and occupational skills development interventions will assist targeted individuals in obtaining vocational training, job skills and social competencies that will facilitate the “Green Building/Rehabilitation movement.    WV GreenWorks shall develop into a stand alone, nonprofit organization with full I.R.S. 501 (c) 3 standing to fully implement efficient energy usage by all West Virginians, especially the low-income. 

Statement of Need

As can be seen by the table below, U.S. Census Bureau source, there are over 844,000 houses in West Virginia, with 69.1 percent being the standard one unit structure.  A total of 142,728 state residents reside in mobile homes or 16.9 percent.  This accounts for 86 percent of West Virginians living in single housing units as opposed to aggregate or “apartment” living arrangements.

Shown to demonstrate the need for this program is the fact that a large percentage of homes were built before 1979, 592,327 or 70 percent, and were constructed without energy efficient methods and appliances were not available.  Utility gas statewide is the highest consumer utilized heat source with electricity second.  Fuel oil is third with wood heat coming in at fourth.  These are shown in the chart below.  With the high costs of the three most utilized home heating sources, interventions must be initiated to overcome the devastating results to people of low and moderate income.

Fuel oil is the third leading sources of home heat in our area.  Due to the rising cost of oil and all energy sources, too many people are choosing between heat, food and medicine.  Recent reports show oil up near 40 percent over last winter.  Natural gas prices, nationwide, are expected to be up 67 percent.  Nearby gas companies have recently filed for increases from 28 to 42 percent.  Also, many local residents will soon be experiencing a hike in electric rates and additional electric rate increases have been requested.

WV GreenWorks, Inc.  realizes that action must be taken now to help offset the probable hardships facing people in coming winters. Even with available heat assistance programs, such as the Low Income Energy Assistance Program, LIEAP, on average, only about 16 percent of eligible families receive support and that amount only helps with 20 percent of their fuel costs. 

To further justify the need, the following table shows how the high costs of energy are devastating to West Virginia families.

According to ON THE BRINK-THE ENERGY AFORDABILITY GAP, April 2008,
West Virginia’s LIHEAP (LIEAP) allocation has lost ground relative to the home energy affordability gap.  From 2002 to 2007, the total home energy affordability gap increased $312.1 million.  In comparison, the federal LIHEAP allocation to West Virginia increased only $2.5 million. 

The report further states that actual low-income energy bills exceeded affordable energy bills in WV by $489 million in 2006/07.  Also, WV received a gross allotment of federal energy assistance of $17.7 million for fiscal year 2007.

These statistics show that West Virginia residents are spending even more on energy by percentage, as compared to the entire nation, because average household income here is less than the national average.

Source: 2000 U.S. Census

Project Goals and Objectives

Goal 1: WV  GreenWorks will design and implement a 501 (c) 3 nonprofit agency to initiate green building and renovation projects in West Virginia.

Objective 1:       Staff will initiate coordination and

                          implementation of the goal by filing all forms to the I.R.S.

Objective 2:       A Board of Directors will be established  

                          composed of no less than 7 members or more than 15 with  

                          expertise and interest in the “Green Movement.”

Outcomes:        Innovative service provider entity will be established to best utilize  

                          the  energy resources of the low-income.

Goal 2:              WV GreenWorks, Inc., will provide local  collaborations, public and  

                         private, at all levels and among all stakeholders that builds green 

                         system capacity, optimizes resources and sustains measurable high 

                         performance throughout the system.

Objective:         Staff will establish strategies to address the needs of target

                         individuals to best utilize their resources for energy.

Outcome:          Staff will fulfill the precepts of this application to serve people   

  with identified needs in a coordinated cost effective manner.

Goal 4:              WV GreenWorks will advance an individual/family driven system-  wide  consumer focused, quality service that is continuously 

                          improved.

Objectives:         Upon initiation of services, outcomes will be developed that includes:

1.   Provide intensive training for contractors and do-it-yourself

      homeowners through workshops and in-service training 

      sessions

2.   Develop a resources center to provide innovative green

      building techniques and rehab strategies

3.   Establish timelines for meeting “green build standards.”

4.       Include transportation plans for low-income individuals to access services and jobs in the most cost effective manner

5.       establish a community support system to help those meet the “green build” model for reduced energy costs.

Goal 5:              Staff will provide an array of approved interventions and services that

                          will meet the needs of individuals based on their stated needs and    

                          life  goals.

Objective:         The Staff will serve stakeholders by: 

1.       Linking to contractors and resources to meet the program

goals.

2.       Completing all referral information and personal   

life plans as stated by consumers and family members (if appropriate).

3.       Ensuring access to services that fulfill life goals for  

Qualified individuals with the best possible energy utilization plan to help them achieve self-sufficiency.

Further:

•          The aspiration of this proposal is to address the needs of all West Virginians as they face the dramatic increases in the cost of energy.

•          To distribute information to as many people possible regarding existing programs.

•          To form coalitions among providers and the community to help meet the coming demands of all future winters to help pay for fuel and keep people warm.

•          To make the best possible use of our present resources and prevent inefficient use of our limited funds. Finally,

•          Work as a community to help our neighbors and advocate for better environmentally sound and cost effective building in the future.

Program

Source of Following: Wikipedia.

Green building is the practice of increasing the efficiency with which buildings use resources, energy, water, and materials, while reducing building impacts on human health and the environment during the building's lifecycle, through better sitting, design, construction, operation, maintenance, and removal.

Green buildings are designed to reduce the overall impact of the built environment on human health and the natural environment by:

• Efficiently using energy, water, and other resources

• Protecting occupant health and improving employee productivity

• Reducing waste, pollution and environmental degradation

A similar concept is natural building, which is usually on a smaller scale and tends to focus on the use of natural materials that are available locally. Other commonly used terms include sustainable design and green architecture.

The related concepts of sustainable development and sustainability are integral to green building. Effective green building can lead to 1) reduced operating costs by increasing productivity and using less energy and water, 2) improved public and occupant health due to improved indoor air quality, and 3) reduced environmental impacts by, for example, lessening storm water runoff and the heat island effect. Practitioners of green building often seek to achieve not only ecological but aesthetic harmony between a structure and its surrounding natural and built environment, although the appearance and style of sustainable buildings is not necessarily distinguishable from their less sustainable counterparts.

The goals of WV GreenWorks is to establish a nonprofit 501 (c) 3 to meet the Green Building and Renovation needs of West Virginians to face every increasing costs of energy.

Goal One:  Positive Environmental impact

Green building practices aim to reduce the environmental impact of buildings. Buildings account for a large amount of land use, energy and water consumption, and air and atmosphere alteration. In the United States, more than 2,000,000 acres of open space, wildlife habitat, and wetlands are developed each year.

As of 2006, buildings used 40 percent of the total energy consumed in both the US and European Union. In the US, 54 percent of that percentage was consumed by residential buildings and 46 percent by commercial buildings. In 2002, buildings used approximately 68 percent of the total electricity consumed in the United States with 51 percent for residential use and 49 percent for commercial use. 38 percent of the total amount of carbon dioxide in the United States can be attributed to buildings, 21 percent from homes and 17.5 percent from commercial uses. Buildings account for 12.2 percent of the total amount of water consumed per day in the United States.

Considering these statistics, reducing the amount of natural resources buildings consume and the amount of pollution given off is seen as crucial for future sustainability, according to EPA.

The environmental impact of buildings is often underestimated, while the perceived costs of green buildings are overestimated. A recent survey by the World Business Council for Sustainable Development finds that green costs are overestimated by 300 percent, as key players in real estate and construction estimate the additional cost at 17 percent above conventional construction, more than triple the true average cost difference of about 5 percent.

Goal Two:  WV GreenWorks shall enhance green building practices.

Green building brings together a vast array of practices and techniques to reduce and ultimately eliminate the impacts of buildings on the environment and human health. It often emphasizes taking advantage of renewable resources, e.g., using sunlight through passive solar, active solar, and photovoltaic techniques and using plants and trees through green roofs, rain gardens, and for reduction of rainwater run-off. Many other techniques, such as using packed gravel for parking lots instead of concrete or asphalt to enhance replenishment of ground water, are used as well. Effective green buildings are more than just a random collection of environmental friendly technologies, however. They require careful, systemic attention to the full life cycle impacts of the resources embodied in the building and to the resource consumption and pollution emissions over the building's complete life cycle.

On the aesthetic side of green architecture or sustainable design is the philosophy of designing a building that is in harmony with the natural features and resources surrounding the site. There are several key steps in designing sustainable buildings: specify 'green' building materials from local sources, reduce loads, optimize systems, and generate on-site renewable energy.

Goal Three:  Utilization of Green Building Materials-WV

Building materials typically considered to be “green” include rapidly renewable plant materials like bamboo and straw, lumber from forests certified to be sustainably managed,  recycled stone, recycled metal, and other products that are non-toxic, reusable, renewable, and/or recyclable (e.g., sheep wool, panels made from paper flakes, compressed earth block, adobe, baked earth, rammed earth, clay, vermiculite, flax linen, sisal, seagrass, cork, expanded clay grains, coconut, wood fiber plates, calcium sand stone...). Building materials should be extracted and manufactured locally to the building site to minimize the energy needed in their transportation.

Goal Four:  Reduced Energy Use

Green buildings often include measures to reduce energy use. To increase the efficiency of the building envelope, (the barrier between conditioned and unconditioned space), they may use high-efficiency windows and insulation in walls, ceilings, and floors. Another strategy, passive solar building design, is often implemented in low-energy homes. Designers orient windows and walls and place awnings, porches, and trees to shade windows and roofs during the summer while maximizing solar gain in the winter. In addition, effective window placement (daylighting) can provide more natural light and lessen the need for electric lighting during the day. Solar water heating further reduces energy loads.

Finally, onsite generation of renewable energy through solar power, wind power, hydro power, or biomass can significantly reduce the environmental impact of the building. Power generation is generally the most expensive feature to add to a building.

Goal Five:  Reduced Waste

Green architecture also seeks to reduce waste of energy, water and materials. During the construction phase, one goal should be to reduce the amount of material going to landfills. Well-designed buildings also help reduce the amount of waste generated by the occupants as well, by providing on-site solutions such as compost bins to reduce matter going to landfills.

To reduce the impact on or water treatment plants, several options exist. "Greywater", wastewater from sources such as dishwashing or washing machines, can be used for subsurface irrigation, or if treated, for non-potable purposes, e.g., to flush toilets and wash cars. Rainwater collectors are used for similar purposes.

Centralized wastewater treatment systems can be costly and use a lot of energy. An alternative to this process is converting waste and wastewater into fertilizer, which avoids these costs and shows other benefits. By collecting human waste at the source and running it to a semi-centralized biogas plant with other biological waste, liquid fertilizer can be produced. This concept was demonstrated by a settlement in Lubeck, Germany in the late 1990s. Practices like these provide soil with organic nutrients and create carbon sinks that remove carbon dioxide from the atmosphere, offsetting greenhouse gas emission. Producing artificial fertilizer is also more costly in energy than this process.

The United States has established several sustainable design organizations and programs.

The U.S. Green Building Council (USGBC) is a non-profit trade organization that promotes sustainability in how buildings are designed, built and operated. The USGBC is best known for the development of the Leadership in Energy and Environmental Design (LEED) rating system and Greenbuild, a green building conference that promotes the green building industry. As of September 2008, USGBC has more than 17,000 member organizations from every sector of the building industry and works to promote buildings that are environmentally responsible, profitable and healthy places to live and work. To achieve this it has developed a variety of programs and services, and works closely with key industry and research organizations and federal, state and local government agencies. USGBC also offers a host of educational opportunities, including workshops and Web-based seminars to educate the public and industry professionals on different elements of the green building industry, from the basics to more technical information. Through its Green Building Certification Institute, USGBC offers industry professionals the chance to develop expertise in the field of green building and to receive accreditation as green building professionals.

The National Association of Home Builders, a trade association representing home builders, remodelers and suppliers to the industry, has created a voluntary residential green building program known as NAHBGreen (www.nahbgreen.org). The program includes an online scoring tool, national certification, industry education, and training for local verifiers. The online scoring tool is free to builders and to homeowners.

The Green Building Initiative is a non-profit network of building industry leaders working to mainstream building approaches that are environmentally progressive, but also practical and affordable for builders to implement. The GBI has developed a web-based rating tool called Green Globes, which is being upgraded in accordance with ANSI procedures.

The United States Environmental Protection Agency's Energy Star program rates commercial buildings for energy efficiency and provides Energy Star qualifications for new homes that meet its standards for energy efficient building design.

In 2005, Washington State became the first state in the United States to enact green building legislation. According to the law, all major public agency facilities with a floor area exceeding 5,000 square feet (465 m²), including state funded school buildings, are required to meet or exceed LEED standards in construction or renovation. The projected benefits from this law are 20% annual savings in energy and water costs, 38% reduction in waste water production and 22% reduction in construction waste.

Charlottesville, Virginia became one of the first small towns in the United States to enact green building legislation. This presents a significant shift in construction and architecture as LEED regulations have formerly been focused on commercial construction. If US homeowner interest grows in "green" residential construction, the companies involved in the production and manufacturing of LEED building materials will become likely candidates for tomorrow's round of private equity and IPO investing

Conclusion

The goal of WV GreenWorks, as stated above, is to provide state-of-the-art “Green Building and Renovation” techniques for West Virginians, especially those of meager means.  The establishment of a nonprofit with a statewide Board of Directors will provide the nucleus for innovative, consistently applied, innovative strategies.