Fort Hood plans to be the first army installation to build and certify a LEED silver-level building under the statutory limit of $750,000, following the release of new army requirements. The US army is incorporating LEED criteria into its Comprehensive Army Master Planning System (CAMPS). CAMPS is an interactive, web-based tool that assists in decision making and builds efficiencies into everyday planning to create and maintain a sustainable army installation.

The Leonardo Academy, a nonprofit dedicated to advancing sustainability, has published "The Economics of LEED for Existing Buildings (LEED-EB) for Individual Buildings." This white paper summarizes a survey of buildings that have earned LEED-EB certification. The paper explains that there are many low cost and no cost sustainability actions for existing buildings, with the average cost of implementing LEED-EB at about $2.43 per square foot. The complete white paper can be downloaded here.

The American Institute of Architects (AIA) released a study on how the three major green building rating systems match up to the AIA's own rating system. The three rating systems, which are the most widely used systems in the U.S., are Green Globes, SBTool07, and LEED. According to the study, the three systems address most of the same points as the AIA's system, but not as strictly as the AIA's 16-point rating systems. The AIA system was published in late 2005 when the AIA adopted a sustainability position statement.

Colorado State University reversed a previous decision and will spend up to $320,000 to get eight new campus buildings LEED certified. The reversal apparently came after CSU was lobbied by members of the green building community. CSU originally planned to meet LEED gold standards for the buildings, but not spend the additional money needed to get the buildings certified. Brian Dunbar, executive director of the Institute for the Built Environment, made a presentation to CSU. Dunbar argued that LEED certification could be a learning experience for his students. CSU hopes to cut some costs by using trained students to help with the certification process.

AC Transit approved the largest-ever procurement in U.S. history of fuel cells for public buses. AC Transit, of Oakland, CA, agreed to purchase a minimum of eight 120 kW fuel cell systems from UTC Power. The fuel cells will power second-generation hybrid-electric, fuel cell buses. The fuel economy in "diesel gallon equivalency" has consistently been 70% to 100% better in fuel cell buses than AC Transit's control fleet of diesel buses.

The Alameda City Council now requires all new buildings or renovations costing over $3 million to be LEED certified. The ordinance applies only to city-owned or city-leased buildings. The council decided to provide leadership to both the private and public sectors to incorporate green building practices and sustainable design. There was no estimate for how much this new ordinance would add to project costs.