NEW YORK, May 8 /PRNewswire/ -- Solar One Green Energy, Arts and
Education Center will be honoring two green building pioneers, the United
States Green Building Council (USGBC) and Turner Construction Company at
its annual Revelry By The River gala on the East River waterfront on
Wednesday, May 9, beginning at 6:00 pm. The event will celebrate green
buildings in New York City, including "Solar 2," Solar One's own net-zero,
carbon-neutral building, powered by solar power, to be completed in 2008.
Mayor Bloomberg, as part of his PlaNYC initiative, has allocated $3 million
from the City's budget for this project.
    Christopher Collins, Executive Director of Solar One, said, "With more
and more attention being given to matters of energy, consumption, global
warming and sustainability, we thought that it was time to recognize two of
the true pioneers in the field of Green Building -- those whose efforts are
creating solutions for our energy problems and are making New York City a
more sustainable place to live, learn and work."
    Revelry By The River: A Celebration of Green Buildings in New York will
take place a week before Mayor Bloomberg's Climate Summit. In his
announcement of the Summit, the Mayor noted that buildings account for 79%
of New York City's carbon emissions. High performance buildings offer a
significant opportunity to reduce New York's energy use through green
building practices of intelligent design, efficient systems and onsite,
distributed generation.
    The USGBC catalyzed the green building movement with the creation of
their Leadership in Energy and Environmental Design (LEED) certification
program in 2000. Under the LEED system, the USGBC has registered over 5,300
projects and certified another 734, for a total of 829 million square feet
of commercial building space. With LEED projects in all 50 states and 12
countries, the USGBC is leading the way in promoting, "buildings that are
environmentally responsible, profitable and healthy places to live and
work."
    To date, Turner Construction Company has completed or has under
construction more than 200 green projects totaling over 51 million square
feet and valued at over $12 billion. Turner has 260 LEED Accredited
Professionals on staff.
    "Turner is proud to receive this honor from Solar One for our efforts
and long-standing nationwide commitment to green building practices. We are
dedicated to the construction of buildings that create environmental
solutions and healthier indoor environments for our homes, schools and
offices through better energy and water efficiency. In New York alone,
Turner has completed LEED Certified projects in excess of $1 billion, has
projects underway worth in excess of $1 billion, and has an additional $3
billion of LEED Registered projects in the planning stages," said Charles
Murphy, Senior Vice President Turner Construction Company and General
Manager of Turner's New York Office.
    About Solar One
    Solar One is New York City's only Green Energy, Arts and Education
Center, working to educate New Yorkers about environmental issues through
education, outreach and arts programming. Started as a project of Community
Environmental Center, Solar One has reached tens of thousands of people in
just three years and drawn acclaim for its unique and innovative approach.
    About USGBC
    The U.S. Green Building Council (USGBC) is the nation's foremost
coalition of leaders from every sector of the building industry working to
promote buildings that are environmentally responsible, profitable and
healthy places to live and work. Our more than 8,500 member organizations
and our network of 75 regional chapters are united to advance our mission
of transforming the building industry to sustainability.
    About Turner
    Turner is the leading general builder in the U.S., ranking first or
second in the major segments of the building construction field. During
2006, Turner completed $8.6 billion of construction. Turner is the only
builder offering clients a nationwide network of offices across the U.S.
Founded in 1902, the firm is a subsidiary of HOCHTIEF, one of the world's
leading international construction service providers. For more information,
visit Turner's website at http://www.turnerconstruction.com.

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