We may soon hear a great deal more about geothermal heating and cooling systems than ever before. For the people working in this part of our business, the ups and downs of the last decade can only be described as a roller coaster ride.

While achieving net zero for one building is somewhat practical, the developer of Whisper Valley in Austin, Texas, decided that the entire 2,000-acre community with some 7,200 homes would be net-zero ready.

The project, which is expected to save Wake County Public School System more than $690,000 annually, includes boiler system replacement, domestic water conversion, and pumping system upgrades.

The winners range from a net-zero housing complex to a North Pole drinking water pipeline.

The Advanced Building Construction with Energy-Efficient Technologies & Practices (ABC) Funding Opportunity Announcement (FOA) aims to develop deep energy retrofit and new construction technologies that tackle a combination of envelope, heating, cooling, water heating, and ventilation issues.

Now in its seventh year, the national competition engages college students in the design of on-campus green infrastructure solutions to address stormwater pollution.

The company has finished HVAC work for the new $8.3 million retail and office building at the Streets of St. Charles development in St. Charles, Missouri.

Boilers and heating systems have been upgraded, helping to reduce campus water use by 30 percent.

The company will lead a program to upgrade building infrastructure in 17 facilities and help cut the city's annual energy operating costs by an estimated 36 percent.

Now is the time to select strategic partners and understand what your clients really want in a design-build project.