Appraisal Institute Releases Enhanced Form to Help Real Estate Appraisers Analyze ‘Green’ Features

http://tinyurl.com/cxefw5p

The nation’s largest professional association of real estate appraisers today released an updated form intended to help analyze values of energy efficient home features. It remains the first of its kind intended for appraisers' use. 

The Appraisal Institute originally issued its Residential Green and Energy Efficient Addendum in September 2011 as an optional addendum to Fannie Mae Form 1004, which is the valuation profession’s most widely used form for mortgage lending purposes. 

The Appraisal Institute’s updated addendum allows appraisers to identify and describe a home’s green features, from solar panels to energy-saving appliances. Form 1004 devotes limited attention to energy efficient features, so green data usually doesn’t appear in the appraisal report, or it is included in a lengthy narrative that often is ignored. 

The Appraisal Institute has added new energy fields to its form to help appraisers gather information on green features, removed the two columns for solar photovoltaic energy sources to align with the number found in a typical residential house, and in their place included a description of solar water heating systems because they are more prevalent in the market than solar photovoltaic sources and vary widely in their characteristics. The form also includes references to aid appraisers in completing the solar section and a glossary at the end of the addendum to assist the appraiser and other readers, such as lenders and consumers. 

Used by Fannie Mae, Freddie Mac and the Federal Housing Administration, Form 1004 is completed by appraisers to uphold safe and sound lending. Currently, the contributory value of a home’s green features is rarely part of the equation. 

“The Appraisal Institute updated its addendum to make it easier for appraisers, lenders and consumers to use and understand,” said Appraisal Institute President Richard L. Borges II, MAI, SRA. “The form also will make it easier for appraisers to determine whether recent home sales should be used as comparable sales and provide assistance for Realtors in populating MLS data fields with accurate green information.” 

The updated addendum reflects input from the U.S. Green Building Council and the National Association of Home Builders. 

The Appraisal Institute long has been the industry leader in green valuation. In addition to the updated addendum:

• Since June 2008, the Appraisal Institute has offered nearly 280 individual courses on green and energy-efficient valuation, and nearly 5,000 attendees have participated.
• In February 2013, the Appraisal Institute added a new solar course to its Valuation of Sustainable Buildings Professional Development Program, which educates appraisers on the intricacies of valuing high-performance residential and commercial buildings, and consists of four courses: "Introduction to Green Buildings: Principles & Concepts;" "Case Studies in Appraising Residential Green Buildings;" "Case Studies in Appraising Commercial Green Buildings;" and “Residential and Commercial Value of Solar.”
• In January 2012, the Appraisal Institute announced its support for PV Value, a spreadsheet developed by Solar Power Electric and Sandia National Laboratories that assists appraisers and others seeking to establish the value of a property’s solar-powered features.
• The Appraisal Institute contributed to the Green MLS Tool Kit, issued in April 2010. The tool kit was created to help Realtors add a green initiative to their local multiple listing service. The tool kit provides guidance on enhancing data in the MLS, empowering appraisers to make well-supported comparisons, analyses and adjustments.
• Published by the Appraisal Institute in June 2010, "An Introduction to Green Homes" by Alan Simmons, SRPA, LEED AP, provides the appraiser with an overview of programs, organizations and products that relate to environmentally responsible building and remodeling.
• The Appraisal Institute and the Institute for Market Transformation issued guidance for green valuation – “Recognition of Energy Costs and Energy Performance in Real Property Valuation” – at a forum hosted in May 2012 by the American Council for an Energy-Efficient Economy.
• The Appraisal Institute in October 2011 sponsored a report that outlined ways to finance $150 billion per year in energy efficiency projects that yield double-digit financial returns. “Energy Efficiency Financing: Models and Strategies” by Capital-E and partner organizations found that within 10 years, investment at this level would save U.S. businesses and households $200 billion annually and would create more than 1 million new full-time jobs.
• In October 2011, the Appraisal Institute endorsed the federal Sensible Accounting to Value Energy (SAVE) Act, which would improve the mortgage underwriting process by ensuring energy costs are included. Sponsored by Sens. Michael Bennet, D-Colo., and Johnny Isakson, R-Ga., the SAVE Act would instruct federal loan agencies to assess a borrower’s expected energy costs when financing a house. IMT also is among the bill’s supporters....

http://www.sierraclubgreenhome.com/go-green/roofing-products/green-roofs-more-than-meets-the-eye/

Download the Appraisal Institute’s five-page green addendum. 

Appraisal Institute www.appraisalinstitute.org

Press Release dated March 7, 2013

Rooms To Go Completes LED Lighting Conversion Project

http://tinyurl.com/c6h6eqm

Rooms To Go ... has recently completed an effort initiated in 2010 to convert 115 of its retail stores to LED lighting. The switch to energy efficient 16-18 watt LED track lamps from the 60 watt halogen track lamps previously in use by the retailer has resulted in an average overall store energy savings of 35-45 percent with a project investment payback in less than 12 months.

In addition to the significant reduction in energy usage from the switch to LED lighting alone, Rooms To Go has also been able to further reduce energy consumption by selecting a wider optical beam-spread for the LED lamps, using a 25 degree angle instead of the 12 degree angle employed for the halogen lamps. This change has not only provided a more even lighting effect but has allowed Rooms To Go to decrease the number of lamps per store by as much as 10 percent, resulting in further energy savings. And since the LED lamps produce less heat, a decrease in air-conditioning demand has contributed to increased energy efficiency as well.

http://led-energy-solutions.com/sample-page/par-38/

Proving that a commitment to energy efficiency doesn't have to be costly, Rooms To Go engaged Real Win Win, an energy management company, to assist the company with taking advantage of utility rebate incentive programs to help cover the initial cost of switching to LED lighting. Using Energy Star Certified LED lamps, provided by Philips and MSI, assisted greatly in the rebate application process. By utilizing more than 16 utility rebate programs, designed to promote energy efficiency through the introduction of new technologies, Rooms To Go's LED conversion project presented an investment payback in less than 12 months.
...

In late February, Walmart selected energy-efficient LED lighting by Cree to illuminate its Neighborhood Market store in Mt. Pleasant, Wisconsin. Walmart estimates the retrofit will save the company about 30 percent in energy costs compared to interior fluorescent lighting.

PRNewswire www.prnewswire.com

Press Release dated February 28, 2013

via Energy Manager Today: http://www.energymanagertoday.com/leds-cut-rooms-to-go-energy-use-up-to-45-percent-per-store-089681/

Pipelines and Property Values: An Eclectic Review of the Literature

http://tinyurl.com/cyrlq6a

Abstract: 

Incidents involving natural gas pipelines in 2010-2011 in California and Pennsylvania have brought attention to the risks of natural gas pipelines. This paper concerns whether proximity to pipelines affects residential property values. A broad literature exists on the effects of proximity to disamenities on property values, particularly of potentially hazardous sites. This paper is unique in focusing on pipeline studies using actual sales data. We find that there is no credible evidence based on actual sales data that proximity to pipelines reduces property values.

by Louis Wilde 1, Christopher Loos 1 and Jack Williamson 2
1. Gnarus Advisors
2. Almost Convex Economics, Inc.Journal of Real Estate Literature Published by American Real Estate Society http://ares.metapress.com
Volume 20, Number 2;  2012; Pages 245-259Online Date: January 28, 2013

Crowdfunding Clean Energy

http://opinionator.blogs.nytimes.com/2013/03/06/crowd-funding-clean-energy/

... 

In January, a company called Mosaic, made a splash in the renewable energy world when it introduced a crowd-funding platform that makes it possible for small, non-accredited investors to earn interest financing clean energy projects. When Mosaic posted its first four investments online – solar projects offering 4.5 percent returns to investors who could participate with loans as small as $25 — the company’s co-founder, Billy Parish, thought it would take a month to raise the $313,000 required. Within 24 hours, 435 people had invested and the projects were sold out. The company had spent just $1,000 on marketing. All told, Mosaic has raised $1.1 million for a dozen solar projects to date. Now it is connecting with other solar developers to identify new projects for financing. More than 10,000 people have already signed on and are standing by to invest. 

... 

Last year, when Warren Buffett’s MidAmerican Energy Holdings Company floated an $850 million bond offering for the Topaz Solar Farm, in California, it was the first time a public bond offering for a U.S. photovoltaic power project had been deemed “investment grade.” The offering was oversubscribed by more than $400 million and the company is now planning a second round to raise potentially $1.265 billion more. And last month, it was reported that First Solar, a manufacturer of solar panels, had signed an agreement with the El Paso Electric Company to sell its power for less than half the cost of power from typical coal plants. In 2011, almost half of the 208 gigawatts of electric capacity added globally came from renewable power, primarily wind and solar (pdf), and almost half of the additional power capacity in the European Union came from solar alone.

...

Over the past five years, the price of photovoltaic panels has declined by about 80 percent. We’re used to hearing about Moore’s Law, which refers to the steady and predictable increases in power and decline in cost of integrated circuits. Swanson’s Law holds that each time global manufacturing capacity of photovoltaic cells doubles, the costs fall by 20 percent.

From 1977 to 2013, the price per watt of crystalline silicon photovoltaic cells dropped from about $77 per watt to 74 cents per watt. Couple that with another innovation — the spread of companies that lease, rather than sell, solar power systems – add in some tax incentives — and decentralized solar has become a viable option for many homeowners and businesses. This is a far cry from the time when buying a solar system meant paying upfront for 25 or 30 years of power.

By DAVID BORNSTEIN

FOR FULL STORY GO TO:

http://opinionator.blogs.nytimes.com/2013/03/06/crowd-funding-clean-energy/

The New York Times www.NYTimes.com

March 6, 2013

Turtle Excluder Device Regulation and Shrimp Harvest: The Role of Behavioral and Market Responses

http://marineresourceeconomics.com/doi/abs/10.5950/0738-1360-26.3.173

In March 2013 The 2011 Hong Award for Outstanding Article in Marine Research Economics (MRE) was presented to Zinnia Mukherjee and Kathleen Segerson for "Turtle Excluder Device Regulation and Shrimp Harvest: The Role of Behavioral and Market Responses" MRE Volume 26, Issue 3, pages 173-189 which was established by Dr. Seoung-Yong Hong, President, Inha University, Incheon, Korea, and is given annually to recognize outstanding works published in MRE.

Abstract:

Sea turtle bycatch by commercial shrimp trawlers has been a primary threat to the U.S. marine turtle population for decades. In 1987 the U.S. government passed a federal bycatch regulation that requires all shrimpers to use ‘turtle excluder devices’ (TEDs) while fishing in U.S. waters. This article develops a theoretical model that serves to distinctly identify three ways in which the regulation affects domestic supply: i) directly through escapement when TEDs are used, ii) indirectly by affecting the fishers' choice of avoidance activities, and iii) through an effect on the equilibrium market price. We then empirically estimate the model. The results indicate that, over the 1989–2003 period, the total estimated harvest loss for the industry from TEDs was approximately equal to 2.04%, which is considerably lower than industry claims.

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Sea_turtle

by Zinnia Mukherjee 1 and Kathleen Segerson 2

1. Visiting Assistant Professor, Economics Department, Connecticut College, 270 Mohegan Ave., New London, CT 06320-4196 USA. She also holds a research fellow position at American Institute of Economic Research, 250 Division St., Great Barrington, MA 01230-1000 USA (email: zmukherj@conncoll.edu).
2. Philip E. Austin Professor of Economics, University of Connecticut, 341 Mansfield Rd., U-1063, Storrs, CT 06269 USA (email: Kathleen.segerson@uconn.edu).
Marine Resource Economics http://marineresourceeconomics.com

Volume 26, Number 3; September, 2011; pages 173-189.

via/hat tip: http://www.env-econ.net/2013/03/zinnia-mukherjee-and-kathleen-segerson-receive-the-2011-dr-s-y-hong-award-for-outstanding-article-in.html
Keywords: Shrimp, turtle excluder devices, regulation, behavioral response

Updated cost estimates of the farm bills that were considered in the Senate and the House during the 112th Congress

http://www.cbo.gov/publication/43966

In response to several requests, CBO has prepared updated cost estimates of the farm bill legislation that was considered in the Senate and the House during the 112th Congress. The updated estimates are relative to their most recent baseline projections for agriculture, conservation, and nutrition spending. The estimates show the effects on direct spending of:

• S. 3240, the Agriculture Reform, Food, and Jobs Act of 2012, as passed by the Senate on June 21, 2012, with appropriate modifications to implement the legislation if it were enacted near the end of 2013. (During the 113th Congress, this legislation has been introduced as S. 10, the Agriculture Reform, Food, and Jobs Act of 2013.)
• H.R. 6083, the Federal Agriculture Reform and Risk Management Act of 2012, as reported by the House Committee on Agriculture on September 13, 2012, with appropriate modifications to implement the bill if it were enacted near the end of 2013. (This legislation has not been introduced during the 113th Congress.)

In 2012, CBO estimated that enacting either the Senate or House Farm Bill proposal would reduce spending relative to what their estimated spending would be if the 2008 farm bill (Public Law 110-246) policies were continued. Relative to their most recent baseline projections for commodity prices, land conservation, and nutrition spending, CBO expects that those legislative proposals (as modified to account for a later enactment) also would reduce future spending relative to continuing current policies, but the reduction would be significantly smaller than they estimated in 2012. 

Senate Farm Bill Proposal

CBO now estimates that enacting S. 3240 (as modified to account for a later enactment) would bring total direct spending for the affected Department of Agriculture (USDA) programs to $963 billion over the 2014-2023 period, or $13.1 billion less than what we project will be spent over that period if those programs continue to operate as under current law.
 

Last year, CBO estimated that enacting S. 3240 would have reduced spending relative to continuing current policies by $23.1 billion over the 2013-2022 period.

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Farm

Significant differences between the cost estimate CBO prepared on July 6, 2012, for S. 3240, and their estimate for a modified version of that legislation relative to our 2013 baseline projections of spending are shown in Table 2 and are as follows:

• CBO now estimates that spending on commodity programs under title I of the legislation would cost $3.8 billion more over the next 10 years than we estimated in 2012 because: recent higher commodity prices increase the expected cost of the income guarantees in the Agriculture Risk Coverage Program offered under the legislation; lower milk prices increase the cost of the Margin Protection Program for dairy producers; and, it is now clear that the recent drought conditions will increase the estimated cost of the livestock disaster assistance program benefits for 2012 and 2013.
• CBO now estimates that spending on conservation programs under title II of the legislation would cost $1.4 billion more over the next 10 years than we estimated in 2012 because recent lower enrollment in the Conservation Reserve Program will eliminate some of the savings we previously expected from the proposal to cap enrollment in the program.
• CBO now estimates that spending on nutrition programs under title IV of the legislation would be $4.4 billion more over the next 10 years than they estimated in 2012 primarily because of a change in their estimate of a provision regarding utility allowances in the Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program. CBO has obtained new information on state practices and USDA’s interpretation of current law with respect to how households qualify for utility allowances.