Forum discussion

NC-v4 EAc7:Green power and carbon offsets

Qualifying energy use

At p. 455 I read: “Exclude any site-generated electricity (e.g. wind turbines, photovoltaics) and fuel (e.g., biogas) from the total consumption amount, provided the project does not sell the on-site energy generated as RECs”. I have some doubts. 1. Shall one exclude only the renewable energy? In equation 1 (p. 456) the word “renewable” is used for fuels but it isn’t for electricity. Does it mean that electricity and fuels are considered in different ways? 2. In equation 1 I read “total annual grid-based electricity use”. Does it mean energy that is bought from the grid? In that equation the “Total annual site-generated electricity” is then subtracted from the “total annual grid-based electricity use”. If the “total annual grid-based electricity use” refers only to electricity that is bought from the grid, it seems that the result of that subtraction can be even negative. In fact, consider a building where more than 50% of the used electricity is site-generated.

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Thu, 09/18/2014 - 15:11

1. One subtracts the on-site renewables eligible for the Renewable Energy Production credit from the building's total consumption. Both qualifying electricity and fuel would count. 2. The total annual grid-based would be the same thing as the total annual consumption. It does not necessarily mean just that purchased from the grid. The equation could yield a negative result if the on-site renewables produce more energy than the building consumes (i.e. net positive).

Thu, 09/18/2014 - 15:29

Thank you, Marcus. If "total qualifying annual energy use" (eq. 1) is negative, is the building a "net-zero building", therefore two points are achieved under this credit?

Thu, 09/18/2014 - 15:41

I have successfully made that case within the context of a project review. Not sure if it is formally spelled out somewhere.

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