Nevada Ranked 11th in the nation for Green Building after not being ranked in 2011.

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A struggling construction sector did not stop Nevada from elbowing its way into the list of top states for green buildings in 2012.

Nevada ranked 10th among all states based on new LEED-certified square footage in relation to its population, according to the U.S. Green Building Council.

The state ranked 11th in the overall list, which also includes the District of Columbia. Nevada did not make the list of top-ranked states in 2011.

“It’s a really good ranking, and we think it’s pretty significant,” said Scot Horst, senior vice president in charge of the LEED program for the council. “It shows that Nevada’s got something good going on (with green building practices) and that the people over there get it.”

The Silver State saw more than 3.7 million square feet of new LEED-certified space built in 2012 — equivalent to 1.39 square feet of LEED-certified space per resident.

The rate was just behind Texas and California, which respectively had 1.43 square feet and 1.46 square feet of new LEED space per person in 2012. Virginia was No. 1 among all states, while the District of Columbia topped the overall list.

Nevada’s LEED total is now at 44.4 million square feet. Notable projects in Northern Nevada that were cited as part of the report include the Schluter Systems facility and NOW Foods distribution center. Schluter’s building was certified LEED Gold, while NOW Food’s center was certified LEED Silver in 2012.

“Corporations are making a huge impact on the number of LEED certifications,” Horst said. “Many of them have corporate social responsibility requirements, and getting certification is one tangible way to do that.”

Although new construction activity nationwide has fallen from the highs of the building boom a few years ago, projects still managed to get new LEED certification via retrofits of existing property. More green building practices are also becoming standard for new projects — even those that are not LEED certified, Horst added.

Nevada’s good showing in the annual list was especially significant given the huge downturn in construction that the state saw after the collapse of its real estate bubble, Horst said.

“The leadership in Nevada really picked up on this and passed tax incentives that have made a huge difference (in green building),” Horst said. “There was quite a bit of controversy about it at the time, but I don’t think Nevada would have done this well if they didn’t make that stance.”