Audubon Building Receives First LEED 2.1 Platinum Award
And the winner is... Audubon. Last November, the Natural Resources Defense Council claimed that it would have the first building certified under the new LEED (Leadership in Energy and Environmental Design) Green Building Rating System™ 2.1. Unfortunately, NRDC's project doesn't yet appear on the U.S. Green Building Council's (USGBC) certified project list.

Instead, Audubon crosses the finish line first with the new Audubon Center at Debs Park in Los Angeles. It was the first project to receive a Platinum Rating - the highest possible - from the USGBC. Of course, it's not really a race. Both groups are putting their money where their mouths are with these high-profile green building projects.

And LEED 2.1 is not the only first. The 5,023 square-foot building is the first in the city of Los Angeles to be entirely powered by on-site solar systems -- functioning entirely "off the grid."

The design of the Audubon Center at Debs Park focuses on a number of key environmental issues that are at the heart of sustainable building, including renewable energy sources, water conservation, recycled building materials and native landscaping.

"Audubon has been a leader in conservation for nearly a century," said Jerry Secundy, executive director of Audubon California. "The Audubon Center at Debs Park continues that legacy. As our nation's cities and population grow, the environmental and economic advantages of sustainably designed buildings will become increasingly important. The role of the Audubon Center as a model of green architecture will only grow more significant in years to come."

Details on the Audubon Center at Debs Park appear in the Oikos Project Showcase.

Ecolabeled Wood Outsells Conventional
Will consumers pay more for wood certified to come from well-managed forests? Researchers, Roy Anderson and Eric Hansen from Oregon State University, set out to answer this question in a small experiment. They set up identical bins of plywood at two Home Depot stores. One bin contained conventional plywood, while the other held ecolabeled plywood certified by the Forest Stewardship Council.

They found the ecolabeled product outsold the non-ecolabeled product by 2 to 1, so long as the price was equal. When the ecolabeled plywood was priced 2 percent higher, the non-ecolabeled product outsold the ecolabeled by 1.7 to 1. Thirty-seven percent of the sales were to consumers who paid a 2 percent price premium. A research brief -- Do forest certification ecolabels impact consumer behavior?  Results from an experiment -- explains the experiment.

Freedom Tower to Incorporate Wind Turbines
Although urban settings are not generally well-suited to wind power, New York's Freedom Tower will rise above the turbulence created by nearby buildings. The final design by Skidmore, Owens, and Merrill LLP -- with assistance from Battle McCarthy -- includes a one megawatt wind farm. The Freedom Tower to be built on the site of the World Trade Center would become the world's tallest building at 1,776 feet.

German Parliament Approves 100 Percent Tax Credit for Renewables
Legislation to establish a 100 percent tax credit for photovoltaic installations and biofuels passed the German Parliament with support from across the political spectrum.

Taking effect this month, the PV tax credit will be € 0.457 per kiloWatt-hour fed into the public grid. In addition, rooftop installations up to 30 kW will receive an additional € 0.117, while installations with more then 30 kW of capacity will received an additional € 0.093. Installations on facades will receive € 0.05 per kWh. Payments will continue for 20 years. Proponents hope that these credits will prompt investors to install up to 200 MW of new PV power in 2004. The current total PV power generation in Germany is about 400 MW.

Parliament also blessed bio-fuels with significant incentives in separate legislation. Biogas, bio-ethanol, synthesized gasoline from biomass, bio-diesel, hydrogen produced by biomass, and fatty acid methyl ester are entirely exempt from petroleum taxes until 2009.

The Members of Parliament (MP) that initiated both laws included MP Hermann Scheer, the General Chairman of the World Council for Renewable Energy (WCRE) and President of Eurosolar; MP Hans-Josef Fell, the Chairman of the German section of Eurosolar; and MP Michaele Hustedt, also a member of Eurosolar.

Waterless Urinals Now Approved for California State Buildings
The California Division of the State Architect (DSA) recently cleared up some uncertainty concerning installation of waterless urinals. According to Panama Bartholomy, of the Environmental Affairs office at DSA, the agency released acceptance criteria for waterless urinals earlier this month. This document establishes DSA's authority to approve waterless urinals in schools, community colleges and state buildings under DSA jurisdiction. The Acceptance Criteria AC M-1 – Zero-Water Consumption Urinal Fixtures is available at the DSA Web site.

Natural Fiber Roof Vent Approved in Texas
The natural-fiber ridge vent, Roof Saver, has passed the scrutiny of the Texas Department of Insurance.

Roof Saver, made by Blocksom & Co., was evaluated for compliance with the wind load requirements specified by the Texas Department of Insurance in 14 coastal Texas counties. The ridge vent with wind deflector can withstand extreme wind loads specified in these areas, which are susceptible to some of the most damaging wind conditions in the country.

The continuous, shingle-over ridge vent-- made of a non-woven mat of coir fiber from coconut husks -- fits nicely with just about any roofing material. The vent is sturdy enough to be attached with a nail gun and is warranted for 40 years.

Due to the bristly texture and nail gunnable qualities of Roof Saver, installation is easier and the result is a cleaner look to the ridge of the roof. Roof Saver is warranted for forty years. If you would like to find products that can withstand extreme wind loads compliant with the Texas requirements visit the Texas Department of Insurance Web site.

USDA Announces Biobased Product Program
The U.S. Department of Agriculture has proposed a new rule that would promote biobased products to federal agencies. Agriculture Secretary Ann M. Veneman today announced the publication of a proposed rule to implement a preferred procurement program for biobased products by federal agencies.

The Federal Biobased Procurement Program was authorized by the 2002 Farm Bill. When fully implemented, the program will require federal agencies to greatly increase their use of biobased industrial products. That increase is expected to contribute to the development of a broad range of new biobased products. Agencies will be required to purchase biobased industrial products whenever their cost is not substantially higher than fossil energy based alternatives, when biobased industrial products are available and when biobased industrial products meet the performance requirements of the federal user.

Under the program, the department will designate “items,” which are generic groupings of similar biobased products, such as hydraulic and transmission fluids. To designate an item, USDA must obtain and make available information such as availability, relative price, performance, and environmental and public health benefits for the items and biobased materials designated for preferred procurement. Items will be designated through subsequent regulations.

Once an item is designated, every manufacturer and vendor producing and marketing products contained within that item are eligible for preferred procurement status when marketing their products to federal agencies. Manufacturers must certify that the biobased content in their products is consistent with the statutory definition of biobased products. They must also certify that they have had third-party testing of the biobased content.

USDA is seeking comments on this proposed rule from all interested parties during a 60-day comment period. To learn more about the program and submitting comments, visit the FB4P Web site.

Select Lighting Products to Minimize Mercury
All fluorescent, compact fluorescent, low-pressure sodium and metal halide lamps contain mercury. You can improve energy efficiency and reduce mercury consumption by purchasing and installing energy-efficient lamps with the lowest mercury amount. For example, replacing metal halide high-bay lighting fixtures with certain high-output T5 fluorescents not only saves energy, but can reduce mercury entering the waste stream by over 4000 milligrams per fixture over ten years.

Unfortunately, few manufacturers make available the mercury content of their products. INFORM, an independent research group, worked with the state of New Jersey to require vendors to disclose the amount of mercury in lamps sold on government contracts. This allows the buyer to select the lamp with the least mercury.

INFORM has been investigating the issue of mercury in lamps for a couple of years. They identified the amount of mercury in lamps sold to New Jersey state agencies and recently published a series of fact sheets called Purchasing for Pollution Prevention: Mercury-Containing Lamps, covering topics such as:

• Model specification language for lamp purchasing contracts,
• performance, price and availability of reduced-mercury options for energy-efficient high-bay lighting (used in warehouses and manufacturing facilities),
• interpretations of Toxicity Characteristic Leaching Procedure (TCLP) test results for fluorescent lamps, and
• mercury content disclosure requirements and results of the 2003 New Jersey lamps contracts.

LEDs Already Having Big Impact
Although new to the market and available only in niche markets light emitting diodes (LEDs) are already responsible for significant energy savings. This is the conclusion of two reports recently conducted by Navigant Consulting, Inc. for the U.S. Department of Energy (USDOE). The reports analyze and estimate energy savings from light emitting diodes (LEDs) and organic light emitting diodes (OLEDs) in niche applications today and general lighting applications in the future. This research, funded by USDOE, found that energy savings to date from LEDs exceed the power produced from one large electric power plant -- more than 8 billion kilowatt-hours. If solid state lighting achieves its price and performance targets, over the next two decades more than 30 percent of the estimated lighting energy consumption will not be needed, representing billions of dollars of savings for consumers.

"Today's energy savings from LEDs are significant -- and we expect to see continuing progress in energy and cost savings over the next 20 years," commented Michael Rivest, a Managing Director at Navigant Consulting who directed the two studies. "If solid state lighting achieves the projected price and performance targets, our model estimates that 3.5 quadrillion BTUs of energy could be saved - more than three times the total annual energy consumption of the state of Oregon."

The study titled "Energy Savings Estimate of Light Emitting Diodes in Niche Lighting Applications" found that LED traffic signals use only 10 percent of the electricity consumed by the incandescent lamps they replace. In other words, 90 percent of the electricity bill that municipalities pay can be eliminated. Moreover, LED signals last several times longer, allowing for additional savings through reduced maintenance costs. Exit signs are identified as another important niche application, where an estimated 80 percent of the U.S. installed base of exit signs is now LED.

LEDs have also made inroads into mobile applications such as brake and signal lights on trucks, buses and automobiles. The energy savings of these applications are reported in gallons of gasoline and diesel fuel because the electricity is generated on-board. To date, 41 million gallons of gasoline and 142 million gallons of diesel fuel are saved annually because of LED use on these vehicles. If the entire fleet of automobiles, trucks and buses were to convert to LED lighting, 1.4 billion gallons of gasoline and 1.1 billion gallons of diesel fuel could be saved each year. In gasoline, that is the energy equivalent of 30 days of oil flow in the Alaskan pipeline at full capacity; and, in diesel, that represents 12 days of national consumption.

The study titled "Energy Savings Potential of Solid State Lighting in General Illumination Applications" estimated energy savings potential if solid state lighting can achieve certain price and performance criteria. The report considered two scenarios -- one where the technology receives a moderate national investment of $50 million per year and an accelerated scenario based on an investment of $100 million per year. Solid state lighting achieves different cost, efficiency and durability targets under each scenario.

Under the moderate investment scenario, in 2025 the energy savings associated with solid state lighting will total approximately 114 billion kilowatt-hours, or the equivalent electrical output of about 14 large power plants. Under the accelerated investment scenario, in 2025 the total energy savings is nearly three times that - reaching 326 billion kilowatt-hours, representing more than 40 large power plants. Over the analysis period of 2005 to 2025, the cumulative energy savings under the accelerated investment scenario total nearly 1,850 billion kilowatt-hours, which equates to more than $120 billion in electricity bill savings for the United States over that time period.

Copies of these reports are available at Solid State Lighting at the USDOE Web site.

Applications Open for BEST Awards
BEST Business Awards are issued annually by the City of Portland (Oregon) Office of Sustainable Development to recognize businesses located in the Portland Metropolitan Area. BEST Innovation Awards are presented to businesses with significant and unique achievements in one or more of six categories: Energy, Water Efficiency/Stormwater Management, Waste Reduction/Pollution Prevention, Transportation Alternatives, Sustainable Food Systems Development (new for 2004), and Sustainable Product Development.

The new Sustainable Food Systems category reflects the City of Portland's commitment to developing sustainable food systems. The City recently endorsed the recommendations of a joint City of Portland/Multnomah County Food Policy Council for moving towards a community where all citizens have access to nutritious, fresh food; where agriculture is a thriving part of the local economy; and where food production and distribution contribute to a healthy environment.

Applications, due in by February 20, 2004, and detailed information about the awards can be found at the Sustainable Portland Web site in the Sustainable Practices section.

Maryland Announces Green Building Tax Credit
Maryland became the latest state to provide a financial incentive for commercial developers to construct or retrofit commercial buildings to be more resource and energy efficient, to save water, minimize site disturbance and have high quality indoor air.

The Green Building Tax Credit is valued at 6 to 8 percent of the design and construction cost of a building. Buildings must be at least 20,000 square feet and located in a brownfields site or other designated area.

The credit enables developers to offset the slightly higher cost of design and construction. Green buildings cost about 3 percent more to construct, but the payback period in energy savings alone is usually less than 10 years. Over the life of a typical office building, this saves millions of dollars. Reducing energy consumption through efficiency also helps reduce the load on power plants.

Applications and a complete list of eligibility requirements are available at the Maryland Energy Administration Web site.

International Effort Leads to Free Daylighting Book
Daylight in Buildings: A Source Book on Daylighting Systems and Components  is a comprehensive reference that describes new and innovative technologies for using daylight in buildings and assessing the performance of these systems. Intended for building design practitioners, lighting engineers, product manufacturers, building owners and property managers, Daylight in Buildings:  A Source Book on Daylighting Systems and Components  is the result of a coordinated international effort to gather the most up-to-date information available about the daylighting systems in non-residential buildings.

Although the text emphasizes the performance of daylighting systems, it also includes a survey of architectural solutions, which addresses both conventional and innovative systems. Innovative daylighting systems are assessed according to their energy savings potential, visual characteristics, and control of solar radiation. The book is available from Lawrence Berkeley National Lab as a PDF or in print.

Aged Testing Protocol Available for Cool Roofs
The Cool Roof Rating Council (CRRC) has a new aged testing component for its Product Rating Program. The completed aged testing protocol provides third party verification of weathered performance claims to aid in the selection of cool roofs that save energy and reduce a building's impact on the local environment. Weathering of products for aged testing has already begun.

The performance of a cool roof over time is greatly influenced by environmental exposure. Several variables, such as different climates and slopes of roofs, contribute to the amount of dirt, staining and fungal growth that accumulate on roofs over time. This weathering can affect the reflectance and emittance of a roof, pointing to the importance of aged testing in evaluating cool roof performance.

Over 130 roofing products are currently listed with their initial ratings in the CRRC Rated Products Directory. Both initial and aged performance ratings (as they become available) will be displayed on product labels and the online Directory.

Free Calendar with Energy Tips
USDOE's Office of Energy Efficiency and Renewable Energy (EERE) is offering a 2004 calendar that's chock-full of energy-saving suggestions. With month-by-month facts about energy-efficient lighting, windows, new home construction, transportation, appliances, and heating and cooling, the free calendar will keep you thinking about ways to save on your energy bills all year long. Information about green power and solar power will help you use more renewable energy, and helpful winter and summer energy tips help you take season-specific actions to save energy at home. The calendar features a smart design and loads of full-color photos.