A planned 10-home development at Issaquah Highlands, a Calthorpe Associates designed urban village outside Seattle, will give homeowners relief from utility bills.
"They're called "zero-energy" homes - homes designed to produce as much electricity as they consume. And in Issaquah, city officials are planning an unusual partnership with a builder to construct King County's first community by 2009."
"The city's efforts follow in the path of a U.S. Department of Energy program pushing zero-energy home construction. "Building America" began in 1995, with a goal to trim household energy use by 70 percent by 2020.
About 2,000 zero-energy homes have been built around the country since 2003, said Tim Merrigan, senior program manager for the National Renewable Energy Laboratory in Golden, Colo.
Federal and state tax credits, coupled with financial incentives from utility companies, are driving the trend forward, builders say."
FULL STORY: "Zero-energy" homes planned in Issaquah
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