Earlier this year,  the U.S. Department of Energy and Environmental Protection Agency held their annual ceremony to honor 118 companies on its list of 2013 Energy Star Partners of the Year and included Grayhawk Homes, the home builder based in Columbus, Georgia, whose production and construction standards consistently meet Energy Star guidelines. Last year, Grayhawk Homes was awarded the Energy Star Leadership in Housing Award.

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This week in Jetson Green Energy News, we’re reporting on recent energy-efficient design awards, a reinstatement of New Mexico’s eco-friendly building standards, new wind power coming to Canada, U.S. GSA sustainability goals, and America’s continued concern for the economy over the environment. Plus, our calendar of upcoming green events gets some new additions.

Carbon Challenge Providence winning design by ZeroEnergy Design

Carbon Challenge Won by ZeroEnergy Design and Cho Benn Holback + Associates

A home design competition that challenges entrants to choose building materials with minimal environmental impact, Carbon Challenge, has been won by ZeroEnergy Design for a Habitat for Humanity home in Providence, Rhode Island, and by Cho Benn Holback + Associates for its updated row hoses in Baltimore, Maryland.

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Blu® Homes builds award-winning, architecturally designed prefab houses in a 250,000 square foot manufacturing facility near Vallejo, California using a proprietary steel framing and building technology that results in economical, low-maintenance houses that are strong, beautiful, and finished on-site.

The Blu | Origin is their most versatile design, allowing for numerous floor plan possibilities. From studios to small one-bedroom cottages to two-bedroom homes, the Origin can stand alone, work well as a home addition or guest house, or be combined with other Blu Homes models. With prices starting at $130,000 the Origin is available in three sizes that are 18 feet wide: 24 feet, 36 feet, and 48 feet.

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After more than two years in construction and red tape, the shipping container home that David Boyle and his wife, Michele Bertomen, who is an architecture professor at New York Institute of Technology, have been building received its final certificate of occupancy from the New York City Department of Buildings (DOB) on February 28, 2013.

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This week in Jetson Green Energy News, solar power is gaining momentum in Japan and Greece, competition is growing in offshore wind farms, Californians have inexpensive solar investment opportunities, D.C. government agencies will be powered by 100% renewable energy, and we have new upcoming green events.

Japan to Get 111 MW PV Solar Facility

Softbank, a telecommunications company in Japan, has plans to develop a solar power facility in Tomakomai, Hokkaido prefecture, Japan that will have a capacity of 111 MW, 79 of which will be connected to grids belonging to Hokkaido Electric Power under a purchase agreement. The plant is expected to be operational within two years.

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