My team and I were recently successful in documenting the use of carbon offsets for LEED CI - EAc4 Green Power by documenting the V4 credit as an alternative compliance path. While the language in the credit is still a bit nebulous, we were able to successfully address all of the initial comments (mostly pertaining to showing work in the calculations) in the final submittal. LEEDuser has been a valuable resource, so we just wanted to put this out there as an idea for any projects in pursuit of this credit that may be interested in using high quality carbon offsets in lieu of RECs.
It is worth noting that our project received the full 5 pts and 1 pt ID for offsetting 100% of the buildings carbon footprint. In V4, the credit is projected to be worth 1 pt for 50% and 2 pts for 100%.
If you have any questions, I would be happy to do my best to answer them on this thread.
David Edenburn
ESD ConsultantRetired
17 thumbs up
February 23, 2015 - 2:54 am
I would be interested in the details of how you documented this. I have a client whose parent company purchases carbon offsets in bulk for the entire corporation. A portion has been set aside for our project (a very small CI office). We did not do an energy model so we will estimate the energy use with the 8 kW/ft2 method. What kind of proof and calculations did you have to submit? Thanks. David Edenburn - Singapore
Andreas Gyr
[e]Team Design and Construction IntegratorGoogle
4 thumbs up
March 17, 2015 - 6:12 pm
Hi David,
At the time, we used the LEEDv4 documentation (which includes a carbon offset option) to document compliance on v2009 projects. However, as this is not one of the credits with 2009-v4 credit transfer, it is unclear if this option is still viable.
Have you considered using the LEEDv4 framework? This would help you assure that your carbon offsets are counted, and it would be good exposure to the full updated framework. Otherwise, it would be worth reaching out to your GBCI reviewer or the USGBC to see if they have advice on how you can document your accredited carbon offsets.
Thanks,
Andreas
David Edenburn
ESD ConsultantRetired
17 thumbs up
March 17, 2015 - 10:34 pm
Andreas:
Thank you for getting back to me. I had heard from other sources that this credit may not be available anymore so I am back to trying to convince the client to go the traditional REC route. Changing the rating system is not an option at this point (they moved in 2 weeks ago).
Lana Malone
Director of Business Development- Green Building Team LeaderRenewable Choice Energy
120 thumbs up
March 18, 2015 - 10:11 am
Hi David-
Unfortunately, the Green Power requirements for v4 can't be transferred to v2009 projects, so RECs will need to be purchased to achieve these LEED points. You can view a list of the 2009 to v4 credit substitution IDC at the link below. Hope this helps!
http://www.usgbc.org/resources/2009-v4-credit-substitution-idc
Marcus Sheffer
LEED Fellow7group / Energy Opportunities
LEEDuser Expert
5867 thumbs up
March 18, 2015 - 10:46 am
I think that qualifying carbon offsets have been accepted for the green power credits. It might be worth a look to see if the carbon offsets would qualify. See LEED Interpretation 10401 for some guidance.