A CIR ruling dated 12/1/2003, established that a building constructed on a new campus could take credit for the renewable energy produced by a grid-tied photovoltaic array installed on the new central plant, provided that owner would not be using this same array for LEED credit on future campus buildings. Our project presents a similar scenario, but we wish to get an interpretation for the specific circumstances. Our project is a low building located on the north half of an urban block, with a much taller building directly to the south. The owner wishes to incorporate renewable power, but the site lacks any solar access. The owner has proposed to negotiate an agreement with the owner of the adjacent building to place a grid-tied photovoltaic array on the roof of this building and to engage in all subsequent maintenance and upkeep of the system. The inverter would be tied to the electrical panel of the adjacent building because feeding the wiring from one building to the next presents challenges based on separate ownership of the two buildings. Provided that the array is sized to provide the necessary portion of the projected energy use of our project, would the proposed location and configuration of the PV system be judged the same as the example in the previous CIR and achieve points under this credit?
The proposed action meets the intent of the credit (to reduce environmental impacts associated with fossil energy use) and is a viable path for credit achievement. To demonstrate eligibility the design team must demonstrate that the array is a new installation (also specifying size, make and model number of the array), and it is not taking credit for an existing PV array. Furthermore, they need to submit a signed document from the owner of the adjacent building (that houses the PV array) stating that the owner agrees to this relationship, is aware that the proposed building is claiming LEED credit for the array, and that the owner cannot claim credit should the owner choose to get its building certified. Applicable Internationally.