Environmental Design + Construction - February 2009 - (Page 10)

NEWSLINE Former Uranium Processing Facility Turned Visitor’s Center Earns LEED Platinum CINCINNATI — Cincinnati’s Megen Construction Company and glaserworks Architecture have earned Ohio’s first Platinum Leadership in Energy and Environmental Design (LEED) certification from the U.S. Green Building Council for their work in designing and building the Fernald Preserve Visitors Center. The 1,050-acre Fernald Preserve, located 18 miles northwest of Cincinnati, was home to a uranium processing facility that supported the U.S. weapons program from 1952 until 1989. A two-decade, $4.4 billion environmental cleanup project converted the site into a nature preserve run by the U.S. Department of Energy’s Office of Legacy Management. The $3 million, 10,800-square-foot visitors center includes: a geothermal-based heat-pump system, high-efficiency electrical, water and plumbing fixtures, window placements that optimize sunlight in all seasons, low-emitting building materials, and a bio-wetland on the site that will process all the building’s wastewater. The team’s goal was to include at least 10 percent of building materials from recycled sources and at least 20 percent sourced from less than 500 miles away. They more than doubled those amounts, with 23 percent recycled material content and 43 percent of materials sourced locally. Visit www.megenconstruction.com for more information. Report Forecasts 37 Million U.S. Renewable Energy Jobs by 2030 BOULDER, COLO. — The renewable energy and energy efficiency (RE&EE) industries represented more than 9 million jobs and $1,045 billion in U.S. revenue in 2007, according to a new report offering a detailed analysis of the green economy. The renewable energy industry grew three times as fast as the U.S. economy, with the solar thermal, photovoltaic, biodiesel, and ethanol sectors leading the way, each with 25 percent-plus annual revenue growth. The new ASES Green Collar Jobs report from the nonprofit American Solar Energy Society (ASES) based in Boulder, Colo., and Management Information Services, Inc (MISI), an internationally recognized economic research firm based in Washington, D.C., provides a sector-by-sector analysis of where the opportunities are in the rapidly changing renewable energy and energy efficiency industries. According to the advanced scenario in the report, which represents the upper limit of what is technologically and economically feasible, RE&EE would generate about 37 million jobs and $4,294 billion in annual revenue by 2030. It’s one of three forecast scenarios highlighted in this report. Under the base case (business as usual) scenario, which assumes no major change in policy or initiatives, the green job forecast is for more than 16 million jobs and $1,966 billion in revenue in the U.S. by 2030 — less than half the jobs and revenue than the advanced scenario. The third scenario assumes moderate policy improvements at the federal and state level and forecasts 19.5 million jobs and $2,248 billion in revenue by 2030. Visit www.ases.org for more information and to view the full report. Photo by David Steinbrunner National Studies Show Green Building as Key Part of America’s Economic Future WASHINGTON, D.C. — Newly released studies and reports point to green building as one of the growing bright spots for the U.S. economy, the U.S. Green Building Council (USGBC) reports. According to Turner Construction Company’s “Green Building Barometer,” 75 percent of commercial real estate executives — including developers, rental building owners, brokers, architects, engineers and others — say the credit crunch will not discourage them from building green. In fact, 83 percent said they would be “extremely” or “very” likely to seek LEED certification for buildings they are planning to build within the next three years. Incisive Media’s “2008 Green Survey: Existing Buildings” found that almost 70 percent of commercial building owners have already implemented some kind of energy monitoring system. Energy conservation is the most widely implemented green program in commercial buildings, the survey found, followed by recycling and water conservation. Nearly 65 percent of building owners who have implemented green buildings say their investments have already resulted in a positive return on investment. And 84 percent of respondents to Turner’s “Green Building Barometer” said their green buildings have resulted in lower energy costs, with 68 percent reporting lower overall operating costs. As green buildings help companies cut costs and build sound financial situations, the Center for American Progress’ study shows how such green investments on a wide scale can ignite the economy of the nation as a whole. A $100 billion green infrastructure investment over 10 years, with a focus on green building retrofits and investment in alternative energy sources, could be paid for with proceeds from carbon permit auctions under a greenhouse gas cap-and-trade program. That’s roughly the same amount of investment as the tax rebate checks sent as part of the April 2008 economic stimulus plan but would create 300,000 more jobs. Also, about 22 percent of total household expenditures — the goal of a tax rebate stimulus plan — go to imports, while only about 9 percent of purchases for green infrastructure investment would. For more information, visit www.usgbc.org. Sixteen Contracts Awarded for up to $80 Billion in Projects at Federal Facilities WASHINGTON, D.C. — The Department of Energy (DOE) announced the award of 16 new Indefinite Delivery Indefinite Quantity (IDIQ) Energy Savings Performance Contracts (ESPCs) that could result in up to $80 billion in energy efficiency, renewable energy and water conservation projects at federally owned buildings and facilities. ESPCs help to meet the federal government’s energy efficiency, water conservation and renewable energy goals. The new contracts provide for a maximum individual contract value of $5 billion during the life of the contract, eliminate technology-specific restrictions, and allow federal agencies to use these contracts in federal buildings, nationally and internationally. In addition, ESPCs now include a greater emphasis on renewable energy and water conservation projects. For more information, visit www1.eere.energy.gov/team. 10 ed+c F E B R UA R Y 09 http://www.megenconstruction.com http://www.ases.org http://www.usgbc.org http://www1.eere.energy.gov/team

Table of Contents Feed for the Digital Edition of Environmental Design + Construction - February 2009

Environmental Design + Construction - February 2009 Contents WebTOC Editor's Note Newsline New + Notable Diamonds in the Rough Alternate Alternatives Case Study: Energy Goes to School Product Focus Marketplace + Classifieds Advertiser's Index Parting Shot

Environmental Design + Construction - February 2009

For optimal viewing of this digital publication, please enable JavaScript and then refresh the page. If you would like to try to load the digital publication without using Flash Player detection, please click here.