This article from Business Edge covers much of the same ground I did in my recent article/post about Carmanah, but some other interesting points make this worth a read considering the latest solar initiative in California and other trends surfacing in the market. For instance, this paragraph — based on an interview with Carmanah chief operating officer Matthew Watson — caught my eye:

“Watson expects the movement toward LEED-certified buildings across Canada and demand for alternative forms of energy will fuel demand. He expects industrial applications to drive most of the early activity but also predicts strong growth in the residential sector.”

Another interesting graph:

“The firm is developing a proposal with the federal government to install solar roofs on Canadian government buildings, such as embassies, around the world.”

It’s nice to see more home developers entering the green housing space, on top of the one-off builds typically handled by custom developers and progressive architects. The Town of Newmarket announced this week that it sold 34 lots for $3.2 million to Rodeo Fine Homes Inc.

Among Rodeo’s promises for this subdivision:

* 25 per cent reduction in household water draws compared to conventional homes.

* 60 per cent reduction in overall water discharge flows, solid waste, energy use and greenhouse gases compared to conventional homes.

No details were provided on how it plans to reach these goals, so this will be a project worth watching as it unfolds. It would be nice to see the use of solar heating and geo-exchange systems, or a combination of both. It would also be interesting to see some solar-integrated building products used in housing projects, so this could be a good opportunity for a company such as Spheral Solar to demonstrate the fruits of its alliance with Elk Roofing.

It’s nice to see more home developers entering the green housing space, on top of the one-off builds typically handled by custom developers and progressive architects. The Town of Newmarket announced this week that it sold 34 lots for $3.2 million to Rodeo Fine Homes Inc.

Among Rodeo’s promises for this subdivision:

* 25 per cent reduction in household water draws compared to conventional homes.

* 60 per cent reduction in overall water discharge flows, solid waste, energy use and greenhouse gases compared to conventional homes.

No details were provided on how it plans to reach these goals, so this will be a project worth watching as it unfolds. It would be nice to see the use of solar heating and geo-exchange systems, or a combination of both. It would also be interesting to see some solar-integrated building products used in housing projects, so this could be a good opportunity for a company such as Spheral Solar to demonstrate the fruits of its alliance with Elk Roofing.