The National Association of Home Builders is accepting applications for its 2009 NAHB National Green Building Awards.

The annual awards honor home builders, remodelers, builders associations and other organizations for advancing green building through innovative design and construction techniques, educational programs and advocacy efforts.

The awards are presented at a dinner during the NAHB’s national green conference, set for May 8-10 in Dallas.

The awards are part of the NAHBGreen program, which includes education, advocacy, marketing and certification services for green homes. Since NAHBGreen debuted in February 2008, homes have been certified in 20 states.

“Between 2006 and 2008, the number of award applications quadrupled,” said NAHB green building subcommittee chairman Ray Tonjes, a homebuilder in Austin, Texas. “The tremendous growth of this program reflects the growth of green building practices all over the country.”

Organizers say they have made a number of improvements to this year’s entry process to make it easier to apply. To conserve paper, all applications must be submitted by mail on a compact disc. No binders or other application packets will be accepted. The entry deadline is Jan. 31.

Building and remodeling projects must have been started after June 2007 and substantially completed by December 2008 to be considered for an award.

Information on the awards process, including the mailing address and downloadable entry forms, are available at www.nahb.org/greenbuildingawards.