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Strategies for identifying tax incentives, rebates, and benefits

Louis Koehl

Director of Sustainable Design

Handel Architects

LEEDuser Basic Member

0 thumbs up

December 7, 2022

Hello Green Gurus!

Quick introduction as this is my first time posting - Louis Koehl, AIA, CPHD, Director of Sustainable Design at Handel Architects, based in NY. I recently joined the SDL Forum and met some of you at the regional summit and Greenbuild. I'm excited to continue to connect with such an influential group!

My question is a bit open-ended, but here goes… I’m trying to better understand tax incentives and rebates for building owners/developers who prioritize energy-efficiency/carbon-reduction strategies, specifically commercial or multi-family buildings (anywhere in the U.S.). My goal is to understand available resources for identifying incentives in a given jurisdication so we can leverage them to persuade clients to incorporate sustainable design strategies. I don’t have much experience here, and I have been struggling to find resources to support my research. So far, the most effective thing has been reaching out to people in my peer network which is mostly AEC professionals.

Does anyone have suggestions for resources that they’ve found particularly useful for finding incentive programs (fed, state, or local)?

All suggestions welcome – industry orgs, sustainability consultants, journalists, or accountants who specialize in this kind of work, online databases, forums, podcasts, workflows you've deployed for identifying incentives in a new jurisdiction...

I found this recent topic regarding the IRA with some great suggestions: Inflation Reduction Act - Recommended Podcast | BuildingGreen

Thanks in advance for any ideas!

Louis

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Kate Bubriski

Principal | Director of Sustainability & Building Performance

Arrowstreet

LEEDuser Basic Member

1 thumbs up

Wed, 12/07/2022 - 19:55

Louis, The DESIRE website is a good resource Database of State Incentives for Renewables & Efficiency® - DSIRE (dsireusa.org) _______________________________________ Katherine Bubriski, AIA CPHC, LEED AP BD+C, Fitwel Ambassador Principal | Director of Sustainability & Building Performance 617.666.7006 Direct Arrowstreet 10 Post Office Square Suite 700N Boston MA 02109 _______________________________________ arrowstreet.com Follow us on LinkedIn | Instagram

Jennifer Taranto

Vice President of Sustainability, Global Services

STO Building Group

LEEDuser Basic Member

0 thumbs up

Wed, 12/07/2022 - 20:02

Louis, Welcome to the group and sorry to have missed connecting with you at Greenbuild. A resource that I've found super helpful across the country is a website called Incentifind. It's a small fee, $10, for a very high level report to tell you, for example, the types of incentive categories that are available for a particular address and building type as well as the total amount of money. For $500 you get the list of incentives that your property is eligible for and the steps to take advantage of each incentive. Here's a link to an example of their VERIFY report for a commercial building. We usually spend the $10 on the initial report to let a client know what is available and if they are interested in exploring it further and utilizing the incentives then we spring for the more robust report which can help inform sustainable design opportunities which might not have otherwise incorporated without the incentive. Take a look at the Incentifind website, but I'm also happy to connect you directly with someone at Incentifind if you want a demo. Hope that helps. -Jenn Jennifer.Taranto@STOBuildingGroup.com (617) 593-8750

Emily Purcell

Sustainable Design Lead

CannonDesign

LEEDuser Expert

379 thumbs up

Wed, 12/07/2022 - 20:06

Here's my favorite resource for Illinois (and they're rounding up federal info too): https://smartenergy.illinois.edu/illinois-incentives/ the regional energy efficiency organizations are a good resource too, for example: https://www.swenergy.org/news

Louis Koehl

Director of Sustainable Design

Handel Architects

LEEDuser Basic Member

0 thumbs up

Mon, 12/12/2022 - 21:37

Thank you, very helpful resources!