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Perhaps unsurprising to its proponents, renewable energy plays a critical role in many of the green building design and construction standards that guide the decision-making of developers, architects, and planners. Let\u2019s have a glance at how several of the\u00a0better-known green building certification frameworks incorporate renewable energy into their assessments and encourage developers to power their buildings with wind, solar, and other sustainable energy sources.<\/p>\n
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Perhaps the most familiar green building certification program domestically is the\u00a0U.S. Green Building Council<\/a><\/u>\u2019s\u00a0Leadership in Energy and Environmental Design<\/a><\/u>, better known as LEED. Projects earn points in over 100 credit categories with the goal of being recognized as LEED-certified, with levels ranging from Certified (>39 points) to Platinum (>80 points). While renewable energy aids in earning points in many LEED credit categories, there is a standalone\u00a0Renewable Energy credit<\/a><\/u>, which provides an opportunity to earn up to five points. The table below illustrates the points available based on total site energy use for Tier 1 (on-site renewables), Tier 2 (new off-site renewables), and Tier 3 (purchasing preexisting renewable energy).<\/p>\n <\/p>\n The Green Globes<\/a><\/u>, a building rating and certification tool administered by\u00a0Green Building Initiative<\/a><\/u>, is positioned as more affordable than LEED, while still being applicable to a wide array of project sizes and complexities. Commercial, institutional, and multi-residential project managers and design teams assess project performance on a 1,000-point scale in seven categories, one of which is energy. Projects have an opportunity to\u00a0earn up to 18 points<\/a><\/u>\u00a0by purchasing either certified green power or certified renewable energy certificates (RECs) covering at least 40% of the building\u2019s total electrical consumption purchase with a minimum three-year commitment.<\/p>\n <\/p>\n The\u00a0International Living Future Institute (ILFI)<\/a><\/u>\u00a0touts its\u00a0Living Building Challenge<\/a><\/u>\u00a0as \u201cthe world\u2019s most rigorous standard for green buildings.\u201d Energy is one of the seven\u00a0\u201cPetals\u201d into which the framework is arranged<\/a><\/u>, with a stated intent \u201cto create new sources of renewable energy that allow projects to operate year-round in a resilient, carbon pollution-free manner.\u201d Among the requirements for a project to earn a Living Certification is that a project must be carbon net positive and supply\u00a0105%\u00a0of its energy needs through on-site renewable energy on a net annual basis, without the use of combustion. The standard also requires accounting for the total embodied carbon emissions of a project\u2019s construction, either by using carbon-sequestering materials or via a one-time purchase of carbon offsets.<\/p>\n <\/p>\n Passive building<\/a><\/u>\u00a0encourages the design of extraordinarily efficient projects, resulting in less energy required to power the building. An exceptionally rigorous building performance standard, Passive House Alliance\u2019s PHIUS+ standard has seen\u00a0remarkable growth<\/a><\/u>\u00a0in recent years, with projects now totaling over 2.5 million square feet in 2,300 units across North America. The\u00a0PHIUS ZERO certification tier<\/a><\/u>\u00a0requires that the \u201crenewable energy provided to the project must be equal to or greater than the modeled energy use of the building.\u201d The standard is also particular about the types of renewable electricity that a certified building can use. While providing a bit more leniency than\u00a0The Energy Co-op\u2019s Renewable Electricity program<\/a><\/u>, which offers only wind and solar, PHIUS attempts to distinguish between truly renewable sources of generation and\u00a0those\u00a0that can get labeled as such<\/a><\/u>\u00a0but whose generation can have negative impacts, including coal mine methane, biomass, and waste coal.<\/p>\n <\/p>\n Those interested in learning more about green building design and construction should join us on September 16, 2021 at 6:30 p.m. for the next installment in The Energy Co-op\u2019s\u00a0Member-to-Member webinar series\u00a0– Passive House + Zero Energy 101: Design\/Build FAQ for Homeowners & Realtors.<\/a>\u00a0<\/strong>The virtual presentation will feature a designer and builder for a discussion addressing how to certify safe, healthy, affordable, quiet, pest and dust-free homes. I\u2019m looking forward to an engaging program and hope that you will be able to join us.\u00a0Register here<\/u><\/a>\u00a0<\/u>and you\u2019ll be provided with a link to access what promises to be an informative program.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":" How sustainable design and green building certification frameworks incorporate renewable energy into their assessments. <\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":8636,"featured_media":4993,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"pmpro_default_level":0},"categories":[117],"tags":[],"acf":[],"yoast_head":"\n![\"\"](\"https:\/\/www.theenergy.coop\/wp-content\/uploads\/2021\/09\/Screen-Shot-2021-09-01-at-11.40.12-AM.jpg\")
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