Green Built Alliance

10/13/2026

Why wait until the last minute to take your continuing education course? With our upcoming Power Block on Friday, Oct. 16, you can knock out the mandatory course and four elective hours. Don’t need the mandatory course, then register for the one or both of the elective courses.

10/12/2026

" The house is coming to life! As we get to the middle of October, the main-level framing is nearing completion, garage walls are progressing, and the garage and front porch slabs have been poured.

Next up: roof trusses, windows, and exterior doors, followed by sheathing and rough-ins. This is where the home’s building-science and wellness features begin coming into focus."

This new home created in partnership with Alair Homes and Alair Asheville | Red Tree represents an evolved vision for resilient, wellness-focused housing.

10/12/2026

10/11/2026

Some great examples of GreenBuilt homes.

10/10/2026

" The levelized cost of electricity for four-hour battery storage is now cheaper than gas peakers in markets across the globe, according to a Wood Mackenzie analysis published Thursday.

In North America, investment in gas generation capacity is entering “a supply deficit cycle through the late 2030s,” the firm said, “driven by data centre load growth, a dynamic that keeps thermal capital costs elevated and reinforces the long-term economic case for renewables and storage.”"

In North America, data centers are boosting the long-term investment case for energy storage and renewables as gas turbine backlogs and rising fuel volatility drive up peaking costs, according to a Thursday note from Wood Mackenzie.

10/09/2026

" Asheville, North Carolina–based architect Miles Smith says old buildings come with assets new projects would have to create, such as established locations, utility connections, and nearby transportation. Their large windows and exposed structures can also be expensive to reproduce.

Reusing buildings also keeps the carbon already spent to make them. Brick, concrete, and steel carry emissions from extraction, manufacturing, delivery, and construction. Tear them down, and a second emissions cycle begins with the replacement."

Winston-Salem, North Carolina, is successfully revitalizing its downtown by repurposing historic to***co factories into modern offices, laboratories, and housing.

10/08/2026

" TNC is working with the USDA Forest Service to prioritize 11 watersheds in western North Carolina for aquatic restoration over the next decade. This work is fundamental to restoring streams and wetlands for native aquatic plants and animals, as well as for protecting the region’s drinking water for more than 100,000 residents."

See how TNC and conservation partners are supporting Hurricane Helene recovery across the South through habitat restoration, resilience projects and long-term environmental recovery efforts.

10/06/2026

Why wait until the last minute to take your continuing education course? With our upcoming Power Block on Friday, Oct. 16, you can knock out the mandatory course and four elective hours. Don’t need the mandatory course, then register for the one or both of the elective courses.

One of our newest courses, Climate Resilient Landscape Practices for Construction, is getting rave reviews, including from one student who said, “I’ve worked in green building for years and know my way around a job site, but this course still gave me a new perspective on how we work with soil, water, and the land to create more resilient sites.”

Why wait until the last minute to take your continuing education course? With our upcoming Power Block on Friday, Oct. 16, you can knock out the mandatory course and four elective hours. Don’t need the mandatory course, then register for the one or both of the elective courses.

10/05/2026

" More than 5,500 people in Vermont have similar home battery systems. As well as providing individual homes energy security during power outages, these batteries form the backbone of a new kind of system known as a virtual power plant that mimics the resources of a traditional power plant.

The US now has over 40GW of virtual power plant capacity, according to internal analysis by Wood Mackenzie. It's still relatively small compared to the roughly 600GW of natural gas and 200GW of coal, but a total of 160GW of capacity could be unlocked by 2030, according to a 2025 US Department of Energy report – equal to some 20% of the country's expected peak energy demand."

Spread across thousands of ordinary homes, Vermont's virtual power plant has become its largest power source. It's protecting owners from outages and providing cheaper, cleaner energy.

10/05/2026

" Signed by author Bill McKibben, former UN Climate Secretary Christiana Figueres and Canada's former Minister of Environment and Climate Change Catherine McKenna, the letter makes a clear call. It urges governments, businesses, institutions and the public to come together to provide clean, affordable energy to "everyone, everywhere by 2030" — from the close to one billion people who still lack access to reliable electricity, to the billions more who pay too much for dirty fossil fuels."

Prominent climate leaders have called on governments, businesses, institutions and the public to make a push for solar power before the decade is out, repowering the world with cheap, clean energy. Is that possible?