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Hillsborough, are currently working on a revised inventory of greenhouse gas emissions and <br /> attempting to identify reduction measures. <br /> Making use of the authority granted by the General Assembly to incentivize energy efficient <br /> construction is a straightforward way to reduce greenhouse gas emissions at the county level <br /> for the long term. <br /> CFE would like to explore crafting an incentive program that would be attractive to lower- <br /> income residents, for whom savings on utility bills would provide a particularly important <br /> benefit. <br /> To give an example of how such an energy efficient construction incentive might function, <br /> below is a summary of the Catawba County incentives enacted pursuant to N. C. Gen. <br /> Stat.§153A-340: <br /> Catawba County is providing incentives to encourage the construction of sustainably built <br /> homes and commercial buildings. Rebates on permit fees and plan reviews are available <br /> for certain qualifying structures and renewable energy projects. Buildings designed and <br /> constructed in accordance with the US Green Building Council's Leadership in Energy and <br /> Environmental Design (LEED), NC HealthyBuilt Homes, Energy Star, or the National <br /> Association of Home Builders' Model Green Home Building Guidelines can receive a 25% <br /> blanket permit fee rebate, not to exceed $500. Catawba County will also rebate 50% of fees <br /> related to plan review or express plan review for commercial buildings seeking LEED <br /> certification. <br /> Additionally, existing one and two family homes and commercial buildings can receive a 50% <br /> rebate on the permitting fees associated with the installation of geothermal heat pumps, <br /> photovoltaic (PV) systems, solar water heating systems, and gray/rain water collection for <br /> flushing fixtures. <br /> Regular fees must be paid in full at time of plan review or permit issuance. Fee rebates will be <br /> refunded upon project completion and certification by third party inspection agency.2 <br /> Rebates or reduced fees for efficient construction could be structured on a sliding scale, with <br /> zero energy construction receiving the most robust incentives. Given the current level of <br /> permitting fees, rebates or reductions in Orange County could be designed here that could <br /> provide a substantial incentive for efficient construction. <br /> The CFE looks forward to working with the Planning Board on crafting an efficiency incentive <br /> program for consideration by the Orange County Board of Commissioners. We would <br /> appreciate the opportunity to have this item included on an upcoming agenda and to work with <br /> you on completing a draft proposal in the next few months. <br /> David Neal said this program is also in Catawba County, and he is happy to contact <br /> them to see if there is enough data to show if this has been effective. He does not know what <br /> budgetary implications this would have had for the planning department. He said otherwise it <br /> would not be hard to write a model ordinance for how a system like this would work. <br /> He said another recommendation is the idea of partnering with Duke Energy and <br /> Piedmont Electric to create affordable on-bill financing options for energy efficient upgrades. <br /> He said this might be appealing for lower income individuals. He said the USDA rolled out a <br /> program this year that allows rural electric coops to do on-bill financing programs. He said if <br /> Piedmont Electric could be encouraged to take advantage of this, it would be a great way to <br />