Waterloo Times

WATERLOO–Hawkeye Community College in Waterloo, Iowa, was the first and only community college to earn the first-ever Zero Energy Design Designation Program from the US Department of Energy's Office of Energy Efficiency and Renewable Energy for its Sustainable Construction and Design program.  

In total, only 17 leading educational institutions were awarded the first-ever Zero Energy Design Designation (ZEDD) distinguishing two-year, undergraduate, and graduate academic programs. Designation criteria needed to bestow the best practices of zero-energy design on students and require students to apply those building science concepts in actual projects.

A Zero Energy Home is a high-performance home and is so energy efficient that a renewable energy system could offset most or all the home's annual energy use. Building Zero Energy homes is critical in reducing greenhouse gas emissions and reducing air pollution to slow climate change. The Zero Energy Design Designation Program supports a goal of a net zero emissions economy by 2050.

“We are so proud to be the only two-year program college and only Iowa college chosen for this international recognition,” said Craig Clark, instructor in the Sustainable Construction and Design program at Hawkeye Community College. “This designation recognizes our commitment to, and passion for, sustainable building design education and will help raise the visibility of Net Zero homes.” 

Original source can be found here.