More Buyers Seeking Green Homes

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Green homes are becoming a higher priority with consumers in the market for a new home. According to a recent survey, more than half of those polled report that green home features, from energy efficient appliances to solar panels, are an important part of their purchasing decision.

What’s even better for the green industry is the survey reveals that many homeowners are pursuing homes with green features because of the money they can save. This implies that homeowners are beginning to understand the value of a green home, and that they may be willing to pay more up front to realize savings over the lifetime of the home.

“A growing number of home shoppers are seeking out homes that offer strong public transit options, high walkabilty scores and green features,” said Leslie Tyler, chief home hunter for ZipRealty, which conducted the poll.

EU looks to free up €115m in extra low-carbon funding

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Proposed changes to EU rules on financial assistance look set to free up about €115m (£95.6m) in otherwise unspent funds that could be used to support clean and efficient energy projects.

The proposed reforms, approved yesterday by the Industry, Research and Energy Committee of the European Parliament, could see the money ploughed into projects to improve energy efficiency in areas such as urban transport, public lighting, and heating and cooling.

The funds are available as part of the European Energy Recovery Programme (EERP), which was launched in 2009, and aims to fuel economic recovery by funding energy projects such as cross-border gas and electricity inter-connectors, offshore wind parks and carbon capture and storage projects.

However, €115m of the €3.98bn investment planned for 2010 has yet to be committed, and the rule changes are needed to re-allocate the unspent money before the end of the year.