McKenzie Solar 30MW Power Plant

In August, the Capital Branch partnered with the Northern California Solar Energy Association to host a presentation and tour of the McKenzie Solar 30MW Power Plant near Galt. Representatives from the Contractor: Swinerton Renewable Energy, Civil Engineer: RBF Consulting, and Electrical Engineer: Rex Moore were on hand to lead event attendees through the design and construction of the array, highlighting critical decisions made by the team. When the panel installation is finished, a custom hydroseed blend will be spread to develop ground-cover to control erosion; sheep will be used to control the height of the grass. The solar array will be in operation for several decades and will be decommissioned, and the land returned to agricultural use at the end of the lease term.

Construction on the solar array began in early 2012 and is scheduled to be completed this fall. The array consists of 134,400 PV modules by Yingli mounted on 26,235 steel H-piles ranging from 4 foot to six foot in height. It is estimated that the project will product enough electricity to provide power for any one of the following: 15,000 average homes with central air, 750 fast food restaurants, 115 large retail stores, 95 grocery stores, 75 large home improvement stores, or 4 Sears Towers. It will reduce CO2 emissions by more than 3.9 million metric tons, equal to 160 million trees planted or 5 billion miles traveled by a SUV.

USGBC’s California Best Buildings Challenge More than Doubles to 13 Companies

Rick Fedrizzi, President, CEO and Founding Chairman of the U.S. Green Building Council unveils new participants on-stage at the W Hotel, San Francisco, during executive lead-up event to Greenbuild International Conference and Expo

Representatives from 13 companies committing to the California Best Buildings Challenge

San Francisco, Calif. – (Sept. 20, 2012) – The U.S. Green Building Council (USGBC) and USGBC’s Northern California Chapter (USGBC-NCC) announced that 13 companies in California have committed to the California Best Buildings Challenge, totaling more than six million square feet of collective building space. Bayer, Integral Group, Lockheed Martin, Method, Onyx Pharmaceuticals, Webcor Builders, and XL Construction join existing Challenge participants Adobe, Genentech, Google, Prudential Real Estate Investors, SAP, and Zynga.

Inspired by the White House’s Better Buildings Challenge that seeks 20 percent energy reductions by 2020, participating companies of the California Best Buildings Challenge commit to pursue 20 percent reductions in energy, water, and waste in their existing commercial buildings in just two years.
“California companies have always been trail blazers,” said Dan Geiger, Executive Director, USGBC-NCC. “When President Obama initiated the Better Buildings Challenge, we thought California firms could go further with the California Best Buildings Challenge. In the lead up to Greenbuild coming to its birthplace San Francisco, these firms are stepping up to pursue aggressive environmental goals in a landmark accelerated time frame - and most importantly, to inspire others to do the same.”

USGBC-NCC initiated and developed the Challenge, which was launched by USGBC and USGBC-NCC with President Clinton at the closing plenary event of the 2012 Clinton Global Initiative America (CGI America), a meeting focused on finding solutions for economic recovery in the United States. The California Best Buildings Challenge was selected by CGI America as an exemplary approach to addressing challenges in the clean electricity and efficiency space. Watch the launch; watch Rick Fedrizzi’s pre-launch announcement.

UC System Hits Major Green Building Milestone

By Harry Mok, Principal Editor, UC Office of the President

A new lab on the UCLA campus is more than just a place for cutting-edge research into paraplegia and cancer: It is the 100th green-certified facility in the UC system, a milestone in sustainability that puts it far ahead of other universities around the nation.

UCLA's new Clinical and Translational Research Center — a former hospital emergency room that was transformed with environmental concerns in mind — was ranked LEED Gold in August by the U.S. Green Building Council.

LEED is a ranking system that rates facilities for their environmental impact in areas like water savings, energy efficiency, waste reduction, materials selection and indoor environmental quality.

The UC system is the first American university to have 100 LEED-certified facilities, followed by Harvard, which had 75 as of May 2012.

Greenbuild 2012 Tours: A Taste of Bay Area Green

By Kira Gould, Director of Communications, William McDonough + Partners

From redwood trees to adaptive reuse, San Francisco is chock full of incredible sights – green buildings and beyond. At USGBC’s annual Greenbuild International Conference and Expo, located in San Francisco this year, you can sample from two dozen tours of buildings (and much more), specially curated by San Fran insiders.

Every year, the Greenbuild “host committee,” made of volunteers from USGBC’s regional chapters, organizes a series of tours to help visitors learn more about the community and the buildings and the culture of the host locale. This year’s lineup is really impressive. The tour committee, led by Lindsay Baker (Green Team Consultant at Mary Davidge Associates) and Mark Palmer (Green Building Coordinator at City and County of San Francisco), has hand-picked 12 half-day tours on Friday and Saturday, plus 12 full-day tours on Saturday.

How did they do it? The criteria for setting up the tours included a focus on educational content, the operational issues, showcasing the Bay Area, showing off unique approaches to green building issues, and making sure that the tours would be fun and interactive. The 25-person committee received a whopping 170 submissions and then scored and grouped them.

Clinton/USGBC-NCC Initiative Gears Up for Milestone Announcement

Initial participants include Adobe, Genentech, Google, Prudential Real Estate Investors, SAP and Zynga.

By Ashleigh Talberth, Director, Special Projects, USGBC-NCC

“This [Challenge] is a huge deal. It’s a lay down economically. It’s a lay down in the fight against climate change. And in our fight to become both more energy efficient and energy independent,” said President Bill Clinton as he unveiled the nation’s most cutting-edge challenge yet, the California Best Buildings Challenge.

Inspired by the White House’s Better Buildings Challenge (BBC), the California Best Buildings Challenge sets more stringent goals than the BBC in a landmark, short time-frame.

Green Apple Day of Service

By Maggie Hartley, Director of Marketing, Gen7

On one day, our vast network of champions will demonstrate the strength and breadth of our movement, leaving a meaningful and lasting local impact.

On September 29, 2012, the Center for Green Schools at the U.S. Green Building Council will host the first ever Green Apple Day of Service. For one day, advocates from across the country and around the world will come together in support of healthy, sustainable schools by taking real action in their communities.

Hundreds of events

Events are planned throughout the USGBC-Northern California Chapter.  In Sacramento, students and community will be re-landscaping at Mark Twain Elementary. In Monterey, LEED EBOM is inspiring collaboration between the elementary school and community college students to audit energy and water use.  In between, there are many more opportunities to join. You can even create your own event.

With more than 700 million children in a school building each day, there is no questioning the enormity and urgency of the task before us. This event will bring together individuals and communities to make changes in their schools and surrounding areas, and there are plenty of ways for you to get involved with this effort.

Join us!

How will you take part in Green Apple Day of Service? Visit mygreenapple.org to pledge your support, share your commitment, and connect with USGBC about news and upcoming resources. If you’d like to get involved or for more information contact John Diffenderfer.

Chemical Industry Announces New Coalition

Last week, the American Chemistry Council announced the formation of the American High Performance Buildings Coalition (AHPBC). This organization is made up of 27 trade associations, including the Vinyl Institute, the Vinyl Siding Institute, and the Flexible Vinyl Alliance. The coalition has spoken out against the General Services Administration (GSA) using the LEED rating system, claiming that it is not a consensus-based system. From the AHPBC website, “American Manufacturers and Building Experts Speak Out Against GSA Green Building Review”.

For USGBC’s response, see “LEED Is Private, Voluntary, Transparent and Democratic”. Brendan Owens, VP for LEED Technical Development, commented, “LEED is developed in accordance with a rigorously inclusive process.  We have received more than 22,000 public comments and have responded to each individually. We work cooperatively with industries, and LEED standards are set in a consensus-driven, transparent manner led by technical experts in their fields.”