VentureBeat

In a few years, the sight of a small wind turbine poking up above the roof of a house might not seem that unusual for residents of San Francisco, if mayor Gavin Newsom has his way.

The city, which just gave the greenlight to the nation’s biggest municipal solar subsidy, is turning its attention to wind turbines for energy-conscious homeowners and businesses. In a small meeting with reporters yesterday, Newsom said that permitting for turbines was being streamlined through an executive order, with an eye toward possible subsidies.

Wind has been an overlooked possibility for cities so far, with most writing it off as an impossibility due to building codes and less wind compared to the open plains of the Midwest. Turbines can also be expensive, though generally not more so than a mid-sized rooftop solar installation, which led the small wind turbine market to grow 14 percent last year to sales of $42 million, according to a new report from the American Wind Energy Association.

San Francisco has a small advantage here. Before becoming carpeted with houses, the city was an empty flat over parts of which trees couldn’t grow due to the continual wind. Early residents believed some western parts of the city would never become developed due to the weather. Later development blocks some of the wind, but plenty makes it through.

As to whether the city can pay for its green plans, which also include a complete replacement of all streelights with LEDs, installing new “intelligent” parking meters and solar-powered bus shelters, Newsom only grinned and said, “We can pay for it.”

Newsom also said that San Francisco may pass the strictest green building codes in the nation within the year. However, any new rules it has will be preceded by a broader set of California codes approved yesterday by the California Building Standards Commission.

Builders will have two years to begin complying with the regulations, which take full effect in 2010. Under the code, all new construction will be required to reduce energy usage by 15 percent. Water use is also addressed, with a requirement for 20 percent less to be used in the home, and 50 percent less for landscaping outside.

Environmentalists were less than happy with the codes, according to the LA Times, complaining that more regulation was needed to enforce recycling and renewable energy, and restrict use of certain woods. However, the energy efficiency components should prove a boon to green building material companies like Serious Materials.

You wouldn’t believe it from the sturm und drang rocking the housing and construction markets, but the green building sector is experiencing a quiet surge.

The green building industry, a catchall phrase meant to encompass any practice or technology that increases the efficiency with which buildings consume resources, raked in an estimated $12 billion in revenues last year. Those revenues could top $42 billion by 2015, according to a new report from Frost & Sullivan.

For its forecast, the report considers potential government mandates and the recent advances made in green building products of all sorts. It concludes that the building industry’s greening is now “inevitable” — spurred by concerns about global warming and the rapidly gaining popularity of the LEED (Leadership in Energy and Environmental Design) certification program, which is administered by the U.S. Green Building Council.

The report estimates that LEED-registered projects could soon account for almost 25 percent of all new construction in the U.S. Yet it also notes that the LEED standard could face some challenges in the short term. Because of the high sticker price associated with becoming LEED-certified — up to $60,000 per project in some cases — other less demanding, or costly, standards could move in on its business. Despite the expected competition, the USGBC remains confident that its standard will prevail; it recently set a goal of reaching 100,000 LEED-certified commercial projects by 2010, up from 1,100 last year.

Las Vegas, Nevada-based Kama, which sells structural insulated panels (SIP), a type of composite building material, for residential and commercial buildings, is well-positioned to benefit from the sector’s projected growth. Unlike older models, the firm’s SIPs are not “sandwiched,” which makes them more versatile. They are made out of a unique combination of light gauge metal stud framing and recyclable expanded polystyrene and are designed with no thermal bridge for consistent peak energy and soundproofing efficiency performance.

The company says its SIPs have no design limitations, claiming they can even be used to build curved walls. Furthermore, they are more cost-effective — using less water and energy than rival products — easy to install, environmentally safe, and they reduce overall construction site waste. Their big draw will likely be their high energy efficiency: According to Kama, they are 60% more efficient than similar models made out of wood or traditional metal stud framing. They also reduce air conditioning and heating capacity by a third.

GigaCrete and Serious Materials, two other green building startups we’ve written about before, also stand to make a mint from businesses’ growing focus on energy efficiency. GigaCrete claims its mineral cement-based interior finishes offer significant waste reduction and cost-effective benefits over competitors’ offerings. Serious Materials, an indoor building material-maker, sells eco-friendly drywall — the most common indoor building material — as well as super-insulating windows and soundproof drywall.

With a recent survey giving the top 13 U.S. homebuilders low marks for green building design and construction and another highlighting energy efficiency’s missed opportunities, there’s definitely a lot of room for improvement.

The green building sector has been awash with VC cash in recent months: Despite there only being a few dozen startups in the nascent field, investors have started paying close attention — helping several raise new rounds of funding.

Newark, California-based CalStar Cement has received $3.4 million from several investors, including Foundation Capital, while Serious Materials landed a hefty $50 million second funding round, led by New Enterprise Associates, Rustic Canyon Partners and Foundation Capital. The Sunnyvale-based startup had earlier capped a $5 million first round. Los Gatos-based Calera, which is developing a cement capable of sequestering carbon dioxide, is backed by Khosla Ventures.

New Jersey-based Hycrete, which produces an admixture (or liquid solution) that is used to waterproof concrete, completed its second round in 2006. Just one more, CEO David Rosenberg says, could take it to profitability; in late February, he said he was seeking $10 - 20 million. Its investors include RockPort Capital Partners and NGEN Partners. Hycrete’s admixture was one of the first to receive a cradle-to-cradle certification through McDonough Braungart Design Chemistry, a green product and design firm. The designation “cradle-to-cradle,” coined by architect William McDonough and Michael Braungart, refers to a product that can be completely recycled or re-used. It was also selected as a Technology Pioneer at this year’s World Economic Forum.

A mixture of sand, aggregate, cement and water, the admixture acts as a replacement for the external membranes that are typically used to keep water from seeping into concrete. When it is mixed into concrete, it links up to metallic ions and behaves like a hydrophobic solution (like oil) — repelling water. Because it doesn’t require volatile organic compounds (VOCs) or other harmful chemicals, the corrosion-resistant concrete can safely be recycled and reused in other projects. Conventional forms of concrete, which use permanently bonded waterproofing membranes, are sent to landfills.

Hycrete’s technology has already been used in more than 75 projects worldwide — including several Marriott and Hilton hotels and condos and apartments in Seattle. Other applications include mixing it into roofing material to make green roofs — roofs covered by lawns — or into drywall to stop moisture seepage.

The admixture reduces energy waste, cuts costs and lets builders receive Leadership in Energy and Environmental Design (LEED) points. Developed by the U.S. Green Building Council, the LEED accreditation indicates a building has successfully adopted a suite of rigorous green building standards. The rating is seen as a boon by companies seeking to bolster their environmental credentials and is increasingly being implemented in new construction projects. Hycrete’s product helps builders reach that goal faster.

Indoor building material-maker Serious Materials has taken on a large $50 million second round of financing to launch a line of environmentally friendly drywall, the most common indoor building material in the United States.

The funding will help the company cover the costs of a manufacturing plant, to open next year. The cost for new plants commonly runs into tens of millions of dollars.

Serious will make three product lines: EcoRock, ThermaProof, and Quiet Solution. EcoRock is drywall that produces less carbon dioxide and harmful chemicals to make, ThermaProof provides superior insulation against temperature extremes, and Quiet is a line of soundproof building materials.

We reported on Quiet earlier this year, without mentioning that Serious is the parent company’s name. Marc Porat, a successful Silicon Valley entrepreneur, started it along with a pair of other green building companies, California Cement and Global Homes, which remain secretive.

Porat’s persistent investments into green building suggests he foresees a lucrative market. He isn’t the only one. Khosla Ventures, which invested in California Cement, also recently put money into Calera, which has plans to recycle escaping carbon dioxide into concrete. Gigacrete is another company after the same market.

Other green-building startups range from Solar Cynergy (our coverage ), a decorative LED maker, to the entire gamut of solar cell makers, who rely in part on consumer interest in solar paneling for their homes.

The funding for Serious Materials was led by New Enterprise Associates and Foundation Capital. Rustic Canyon Partners, which provided the previous round of $5 million, also participated.