It’s official:   New Orleans has the winning bid for Superbowl 2013.

The announcement came just weeks ago when the NFL owners agreed to provide the Crescent City with its 10th Superbowl, and represents a huge step forward for the city rebuilding after Hurricane Katrina.

The Superbowl award, however, brings more to South Louisiana than excitement.   The state and individual municipalities are already laying the groundwork for public projects to properly usher in the country’s biggest event – an example of which is embedded directly into the city’s Superbowl bid, whereby state leaders pledged a pre-game $85 million investment into the Superdome.

Perhaps the high-profile event will be an additional opportunity for Louisiana to build green – especially in light of 2009 state legislation designed to attract green technology and start-ups to the state.    Stay tuned.

A May 2009 press release from Louisiana Senator Neil Gautreaux’s office explains that the proposal of Senate Bill 91 gained unanimous support after a group of fifth graders testified on behalf of the legislation and urged state legislators to “go green.”

While still pending in Baton Rouge and not yet on its way to the governor’s desk, the “green building” bill is one of the more aggressive green building tax credits proposed in the nation.

Senator Gauthreaux’s office sells the bill in their press release with the following:

This tax credit, combined with the federal tax credits, will make our state a leader in incentives for the promotion of alternative energy…Besides promoting the adoption of resources that generate safe, efficient and clean energy, the tax incentives will also be a boon to economic development by creating new “green jobs.”

Summary of Senate Bill 91

Summary:  Grants a transferable tax credit until January 1, 2013 for income and franchise franchise taxes of 25% of the costs and expenses attributable to the construction or for the installation of certain qualified energy systems on and after January 1, 2009 limited to $450,000 per system.

Status:  Pending in Conference Committee

Qualifying Energy Systems:  Wind, Solar Energy, Small irrigation power, Open-lop and closed-loop biomass, geothermal energy, and more.

Read the full text of Senate Bill 91.

Governor Bobby Jindal signed two Green Building bills into law this July 2009.

The first, Act 348, authorizes the creation of sustainable energy financing districts and was authored by Senator Nick Gautreaux.    The second, ACT 520, authorizes a tax credit for certain green job industries, and was authored by Representative Walt Leger.

The two acts provide green building contractors and businesses, and the purchasers of those products and services, some of the most beneficial tax incentives in the nation.   The new laws also help Louisiana hold its ground in the national green building boom.

Act 348 – Gautreaux (LA R.S. 33:130.790 – 793)

The digest of Act 348 only scratches the surface for the green building opportunities created by this act.    Here is the official summary for the Act:

Authorizes creation of sustainable energy financing districts by local governmental subdivisions and provides for issuance of bonds and property assessment programs for solar and energy efficiency projects.

The effect of this act, in plain english, is to allow local governments and subdivisions to incur debt for the purposes of providing these “energy financing districts” with necessary funds to cover the cost of energy efficiency improvements or renewable energy improvements.

These loans are made directly by the district to the home or property owner, and can be paid back over a twenty year period.   Property owners can even make arrangements to pay back loans through its payment of annual property taxes.

On July 7, 2009, Governor Bobby Jindal caused Act 348 to become law.  Time will tell whether local government subdivisions will take advantage of the new law and start offering loans to homeowners and property owners who are interested in making green building improvements to their properties.

If these loans become available, and used, it could lead to an enormous amount of green building projects throughout Louisiana.   Read the full text of Act 348

Act 520 – Leger (La R.S. 47:6035)

According to the New Orleans’ Times Picayune article on Act 520, the tax credit system created by this proposal is similar to the  tax credits offered to filmmakers in Louisiana.   State Representative Walt Leger hopes to lure green businesses to Louisiana through the same trick that helped coin New Orleans’ “Broadway South.”

The tax credits are explained in the Times Picayune Article as follows:

Working on a tiered system that offers 10 percent to 25 percent, based on how much companies spend, the tax credit applies to the start-up costs of a new green business as well as to the payroll of each new green job…As defined in the bill, green jobs and industries can include a wide range of potential businesses, including renewable energy services, green building and construction, weatherization, energy rating, biofuels, energy-efficient transportation, deconstruction and green product manufacturers.

The potential reach of the new legislation – known as the Louisiana Green Jobs Initiative – is wide.

With the post-Katrina construction silver lining, the injection of stimulus cash, and the national (and local) green building boom…Louisiana’s Green Market may be in for a perfect storm in 2009 and 2010.

Read full text of Act 520.