NC-2009 EAc2: On-Site Renewable Energy 1-7 points

Can a third party such as a utility company install and operate a Solar PV system on the rooftop of a LEED project, and can the owner achieve EA c2 credit (1%) and possibly an exemplary performance credit (5%) for Core and Shell V2.0 rating system? Intent of Credit: Encourage and recognize increasing levels of on-site renewable energy self-supply in order to reduce environmental and economic impacts associated with fossil fuel energy use. Approach: A new program has been initiated in the San Diego Gas and Electric (SDG&E)territory named Clean Energy Systems. The objective of this program is to find usable roof space (at least 5,000 sf)in high performance buildings such as this project where a Solar PV system can be installed, operated, and maintained by SDG&E. The impetus for this unique program is to use available secure roof top space to increase its renewable energy system portfolio that will help SDG&E get to its 20% overall renewable energy portfolio as required by California State Law. It would be the intent of SDG&E to sign a long-term lease space contract with the Owner of this project and install at least 5,000 sf of Solar PV array up on the roof of this and possibly the other two future buildings (Buildings B and C)in this core and shell complex. As mentioned previously, the motivation of SDG&E will be to grid-tie this renewable energy to assist them in achieving the 20% portfolio threshold. The motivation of the Owner is to achieve at least one and maybe two LEED points even though they will not necessarily be using electricity generated from the Solar PV system. The owner would sign a contract with SDG&E before this project is submitted via LEED Online sometime in the Fall of this year 2008. We would provide evidence to this plus an implementation schedule for installation of the system on at least Building A during design submittals. Confirmation of Credit Intent: We believe this approach does meet the intent of the credit providing renewable energy self-supply in order to reduce the environmental effects of fossil fuel consumption (aka global warming)while providing the developer with very needed LEED points in order to achieve LEED Silver for its Building A project. We also believe that this approach will be occurring more frequently in the near future with progressive utilities offering to lease roof space on LEED-registered buildings for independent Solar PV farms. Please verify that this approach summarized above does fulfill the intent of Credit EA c2.

The project team is planning on installing a Cogeneration System that will take Biogas and turn it into Electricity to be used wholly on-site. The heat produced by this Cogeneration system will also fully be used on-site to preheat heating hot water and domestic hot water via a heat exchanger and potentially to power an absorption chiller.The building will receive the Biogas from a local Biogas provider and plans to enter into at least a 10 year contract with this provider to supply enough Biogas to the building to fully power the planned Cogeneration system. The contract will stipulate both that enough Biogas will be fed into the pipeline to meet required demands of the Cogeneration system and that the Biogas will be metered to prove that the actual amount of Biogas supplied meets the contracted requirements at all times.Though the Biogas is not being piped exclusively to the site (contractually it is supplied exclusively via project ownership funds), it is transported directly to the site in the existing natural gas pipeline. This approach achieves the exact same net result on the Natural Gas grid as piping Biogas exclusively to the project site in its own dedicated pipeline and allows the project to avoid having to dig up 100s of miles of land and lay a brand new pipeline to the project, something that would have a significantly detrimental effect on the local environment. In an urban environment like where the project is located, there is little or no option to be able to refine and extract Biogas on-site or even very close to a site, so the approach the project team is suggesting is the best and most reasonable alternative.Is this approach acceptable in accordance with the Reference Guide and Addendum 100001081 (November 1, 2011)?

This is an administrative ruling posted by USGBC updating the conditions that must be met for a project to take credit for renewable energy under EAc2.

Are Ecoenergy labeled electricity products applicable for LEED EB O&M EA credit 4: Renewable energy?

ON-SITE RENEWABLE ENERGY (EA CREDIT 2)MULTIPLE CAMPUS SPECIAL ALLOWANCE FOR K-12 SCHOOL DISTRICTSThe following request is intended to allow K-12 school districts with multiple campuses and multiple LEED projects, to optimize the design, installation and cost of on-site renewable energy systems.It is very difficult for older school districts to find sufficient suitable land, parking areas, and structurally adequate building rooftops, on campuses in urban areas, for the installation of renewable energy systems. One campus may have suitable areas while another has no suitable areas. The intent of this LEED interpretation is to allow the one campus within a school district to serve as the on-site renewable systems location for other campuses.This request would allow districts to have renewable energy systems in one, or more, centralized areas, and would help optimize the cost and allocation of energy generated by such systems across multiple projects. A school district with multiple campuses is currently forced to located renewables energy systems within a campus boundary. Large corporations and large universities are allowed to located centralized renewable energy systems to serve multiple LEED projects that can separated far from each other. This seems like an unfair benefit intended to help the large property owners. The benefit should be extended to K-12 school districts.Although this LEED interpretation is written based on K-12 schools the USGBC may wish to extend this allowance to other LEED project types.For such an allowance to meet the intent of LEED we believe several restrictions should be applied to avoid issues related to owners of multiple properties that the USGBC might be concerned with. The USGBC should adjust and revise the restrictions below to address any issues we may have not considered such that the intent of LEED is met. A possible list of restrictions is provided below for use by the USGBC in developing criteria for this multiple-campus request.1. Multiple campus properties must all be owned by the same owner. [The USGBC may decide to allow leased properties to be included if certain criteria is met; e.g, length of lease similar to LEED-CI requirements.]2. The school district must make a commitment and register at least two projects for LEED certification.3. Each school district property claimed, either as a LEED project or renewables energy generation site, must be located in the same energy services utility district.4. The K-12 school district boundary area must be contiguous, or maximum distance encompassing the campuses of no greater than 10 miles square (10 x 10 miles). Exceptions to this requirement will be evaluated on their merits.5. All LEED School Rating systems can use this interpretation, however, specific renewable energy requirements must be met for each different rating system version.6. The energy generation generation of each separate renewable systems location can be aggregated together. This will create an overall renewable energy generation value that can then be distributed to separate projects. The energy generation of each separate renewable project location must be evaluated based on the renewable energy resources available at each specific location. For example, if the solar energy systems are used the solar energy generation must be based on the actual solar resources for a specific renewable energy source location.

Our Campus has a 780 kW PV system installed as a joint venture with a Utility, which was made possible by partial funding from the sale of the REC\'s. The system is installed on 10 existing random building rooftops, with another 136 kW phase nearly commissioned on/near a sports field. We pay a small kWh premium, and will take full ownership after 20 years. PV output is dedicated for campus use, utilizing a combination of direct building connections and connections to the campus owned grid. We would like to apply for EAc2 on a campus basis for approximately 9 separate building projects that do not include their own individual PV installations. The cost to buy REC\'s for 10 years for the entire campus system is prohibitive under our current construction budgets. We propose that individual LEED Building Projects apply for EAC2 using the existing onsite PV renewable source, and buy 10-year REC\'s for 100% of the power claimed on the Template, as qualifying on-site renewable energy. The project REC\'s would be redeemed and solely retained by the individual Building Projects, and would not be shared for use on any other projects. Would purchasing REC\'s then restore the "associated environmental benefit" to the on-site generated renewable project energy claimed; and meet the sustainable intent of the credit as indicated in the CIR Ruling dated 7/20/2009?

Our project is a 238,000 SF brick manufacturing facility in Terre Haute, Indiana. The project consists of 5,000 SF of office space and 233,000 SF of manufacturing area, including extrusion, drying, and kiln equipment. The energy required for the manufacturing process exceeds 90% of the facility\'s total energy load. We are submitting a separate CIR to address quantifying energy savings for the manufacturing process. In the brick industry, the typical manufacturing process (specifically the kiln) utilizes natural gas as a primary energy source. To maximize energy savings and reduce the environmental and economic impact of brick-making, our Client has selected a site that is directly adjacent to a municipal landfill, with plans to fuel the kiln with methane off-gassing from the landfill. Currently, the methane is collected, burned, and flared directly into the atmosphere; however, it can be contained, cleaned and pressurized so that it may be used constructively in lieu of natural gas. Our Client has obtained permission from the landfill to tap into this energy source. As part of our project scope, we will install compressors and an underground pipeline to transport the landfill gas to the manufacturing facility. This will replace the majority of natural gas that powers the kiln and vastly reduce the amount of on-grid energy required by the facility. Our Client will install and maintain all equipment required to prepare, transport, and apply this methane to the manufacturing process. Other than allowing us to tap into this un-used resource, the operator of the landfill will have no involvement or responsibility in this venture. Please verify that landfill off-gassing qualifies for credit under EA credit 2 in this case, even though the landfill itself is not owned by our client or located within our project site. We will calculate renewable energy as a percentage of the total building annual energy cost, including process energy.

For two new buildings being constructed on a campus with an existing solar farm, is it acceptable to submit both these buildings for EAc2, provided that the total amount of energy for which credit is being sought is less than the amount produced by the farm?

Can a waste-to-energy generation facility qualify for EAc2?