Sustainable Development Focus
Commercial Property Executive - Apr 20 Green building continues its frenetic pace globally, and the numbers are staggering. Each day, 2.2 million square feet achieve LEED certification, while respondents to Dodge Data & Analytics’ World Green Building Trends 2016 SmartMarket Report say 60 percent of their projects will go green by 2018. But despite the number of commercial real estate owners jumping on the sustainability bandwagon, the process of going green remains fraught with challenges. Maastricht University and CBRE’s 2016 National Green Building Adoption Index shows that in the 30 largest U.S. office markets, the growth of Energy Star-and LEED-certified space has increased slightly since the end of 2014. However, total floor space certified by the U.S. Green Building Council decreased from 20.1 percent to 19.6 percent, including newly constructed buildings.
Solar Industry Magazine - Apr 21 Last Friday, several Macy’s Inc. locations revealed their solar energy makeovers, part of a company-wide sustainability initiative with SunPower, during dedication events at various stores, including the Macy’s Broadway Plaza store in Walnut Creek, California. This marks the completion of 21 SunPower solar energy systems installed over this past year at Macy’s and Bloomingdale’s locations in seven states, totaling 15 megawatts and adding to the nearly 24 megawatts of SunPower solar that have been operating since 2007. “Macy’s continues to demonstrate extraordinary leadership in sustainability, and we’re honored to support the company’s efforts with SunPower’s dependable solar energy solutions,” says Nam Nguyen, SunPower senior vice president.
San Diego Union Tribune - Apr 19 Balboa Park has reached its 10-building goal in making San Diego’s crown jewel environmentally sustainable. The Balboa Park Cultural Partnership announced last Wednesday that it had certified the buildings under the U.S. Green Building Council’s LEED program — Leadership in Energy and Environmental Design. The latest two buildings to gain recognition for saving energy, reducing waste and water use, and other factors were the San Diego Museum of Man and the Japanese Friendship Garden’s Inamori Pavilion.
Electric Light & Power - Apr 20 Great America, Santa Clara’s 100-acre amusement park, will cover 100 percent of its electricity use with renewable energy through Silicon Valley Power's Santa Clara Green Power program. Santa Clara Green Power is a renewable energy program that allows Santa Clara residents and businesses to purchase 100 percent solar and wind energy. Great America’s commitment to 100 percent wind energy – 12,810 megawatt-hours annually – makes it one of the largest renewable energy purchasers in the Santa Clara Green Power program and a member of the U.S. EPA’s Green Power Partnership’s Leadership Club. This annual clean energy purchase is similar to the output of four large-scale wind turbines – reducing Great America’s carbon footprint from electricity use by over 7 million pounds of carbon dioxide each year.
Utility Dive - Apr 20 Advanced Microgrid Solutions (AMS) has struck a deal with Kilroy Realty that will expand the storage company’s fleet of commercial buildings equipped with storage devices in California. The deal calls for AMS to expand 11 MWh of storage at five Kilroy buildings in El Segundo, Long Beach, and Irvine. The systems, which will range from 1500 kWh to 3,000 kWh, are designed to automatically shift the buildings to battery power based on prices and demand response signals from Southern California Edison. “Kilroy Realty’s emphasis on sustainable, innovative building design and operation makes their buildings the perfect place to showcase AMS’ cutting-edge energy management platform,” Susan Kennedy, AMS’ CEO, said in a statement.
Orange County Register - Apr 19 Toyota delivered a zero-emissions 670-horsepower truck to the ports of Los Angeles and Long Beach last Wednesday that could ultimately reverse the region’s high cancer-causing pollution levels. If the hydrogen-powered big rig performs well during a summer-long pilot test dubbed “Project Portal,” the new heavy-duty carrier could be the model to replace thousands of diesel trucks that pass to and from the twin ports daily. Vehicles propelled by hydrogen don’t have the drawback of cumbersome batteries or molasses-slow charging sessions like all-electric cars. The new truck’s electric motor is powered by hydrogen fuel cells that emit only water vapor and can travel up to 200 miles on one 20-minute charge.
