Sustainable Development Focus
New York Times - Jun 3 At first glance, Anthony and Vanessa Genau’s home in a subdivision beneath the San Gabriel Mountains is like any other gracious new suburban dwelling, with an open-plan living space, granite countertops, and stainless steel appliances. But, along with 19 other cream, taupe, and rust stucco houses that cradle the landscaped playgrounds here, it is actually something else: a large-scale testing ground for an energy system of the very near future. All of the test homes have SunPower rooftop solar systems, which are among the most efficient on the market. And because they were designed along with the houses, the arrays can be oriented for maximum production. With a combination of rooftop solar panels, smart thermostats, advanced water heaters, and other high-efficiency features, the homes are all built with a similar goal: to make at least as much energy as they use over a year. It’s a concept known as zero net energy, and the cluster of homes here represents one of the nation’s largest experiments to see if zero net energy can be put into wider use.
U.S. News & World Report - Jun 9 A new report by the U.S. Green Building Council and American Sustainable Business Council probed the economics of green buildings and their value in stopping climate change. Building improvements are probably the largest single opportunity for carbon reduction in our entire economy. A typical LEED-certified building uses about 25 percent less energy and belches out 25 percent less carbon dioxide than a comparable non-LEED building. With many LEED buildings in operation and under construction, the savings add up fast. According to the report, if all new and retrofitted buildings were LEED-compliant, by 2025, we'd keep nearly 150 million metrics tons of carbon out of air. This reduction is nearly 7 percent of what the U.S. has pledged at the U.N. climate conference in Paris. By 2050, LEED-related savings could cover nearly 10 percent of the entire U.S. commitment.
Stockton Record - May 28 Pacific Gas and Electric Co. (PG&E) has opened a new regional office in Stockton, which features a 1,500-square foot Zero Net Energy display home for educating visitors on residential energy efficiency. The 138,000-square foot office space at 3136 Boeing Way will feature solar panels that will provide 30 percent of the building’s power usage, electric vehicle charging stations, and drought-tolerant landscaping. The Zero Net Energy display home will educate the public on the requirements to meet California’s ambitious goals for all new construction to be ZNE residential by 2020 and commercial by 2030.
Commercial Property Executive - Jun 7 The Net Zero Plus Electric Training Institute, a 144,000-square-foot demonstration center and living laboratory, opened in Los Angeles, becoming the nation’s largest net zero plus commercial building retrofit. The building is the result of a partnership between the International Brotherhood of Electrical Workers (IBEW) Local 11 and National Electric Contractors LAthat began with the primary goal to provide world-leading advanced training for apprentices, journeymen, and electric contractors. The Net Zero Plus Electrical Training Institute will generate more energy than it consumes each year. This excess energy, generated by an onsite photo-voltaic solar array, can be stored in the center’s battery storage system or be discharged back into the electric grid system.
San Diego Union-Tribune - Jun 6 The Padres may be struggling in the standings but the team is a championship contender in one off-the-field category: energy efficiency. Petco Park is helping lead the way among sports stadiums across the country when it comes to reducing electricity use for lighting and water while expanding the stadium’s recycling programs at the same time. Overall, the team has estimated it has reduced energy usage by more than 40 percent compared to an average year. One of the biggest changes the team made prior to the start of this season was changing its lighting fixtures — ranging from the massive units above the stadium to the interior lights inside the park’s front office — to state-of-the-art LED technology.
