As energy prices continue to rise, the question arises as to how each industry can reduce the economic impacts of skyrocketing natural gas and electricity bills at their facilities throughout the country. Incorporating renewable energy into green building projects is a tactic that can help to mitigate these effects.

Certification Programs

Green buildings that choose to pursue third-party certification to validate their green claims do so through the Leadership in Energy and Environmental Design (LEED) program and other emerging certification programs, such as the Green Building Initiative’s Green Globes Rating System.

These programs have taken great strides toward promoting consumer friendly energy, land, and water conservation techniques; however, none fully exploit the potential for renewable energy resource development. On-site renewable energy generation is a superior alternative to fossil fuel use, providing energy security and critical backup power to facilities and eventually paying for itself many times over. This is a feat no standard electricity provider can match.

The EPA ENERGY STAR program does not include renewable energy measures in their benchmarking process. The Green Globes Rating System offers just 45 points out of 1,000 for renewable energy. LEED for New Construction Version 2.2 only awards up to four points, out of a total of 69, for on-site renewable energy; LEED for Existing Buildings awards up to five points out of 85. The table below outlines the breakdown of these points. For more information on specific LEED-applicable credit areas (Energy and Atmosphere and potentially Innovation and Design), visit www.usgbc.org.

Many projects applying for a LEED certification opt not to pursue the points awarded for renewable energy and green power because the total cost of renewable energy assets compared to the number of points awarded makes such an investment cost prohibitive.

In the table below, Think Energy has analyzed the environmental benefits of two different strategies at a standard office building in Maryland. One strategy is to provide bike racks and showers for 5 percent of the building users, or 20 people, who commute an average of eight miles per day each. This strategy can also earn one LEED point.

A second strategy is to provide a solar PV system that would offset 10 percent of the building’s energy load, which is about 2,050,000 kWh per year. A 175 kW PV system would cover about 25,000 square feet of roof space and produce approximately 205,000 kWh per year. This strategy can earn two LEED points. As evidenced in the table, the PV system offers a far greater environmental benefit.

When considering building integrated renewable energy systems, it is important to consider all aspects, including the building material that is being replaced or supplemented by the technology.

For as long as these widely-accepted standards still persist in marginalizing the environmental impact of on-site renewable energy generation, the solution to widespread implementation will have to be developed in other areas—namely, a reduction in the cost for renewable technologies and the education of building developers, architects, and owners as to the intelligent long-term investment represented by an onsite renewable energy system.

Architectural Wind Turbine Rendering, Parapet-Mounted Wind Turbines, 800 Watts each. Photo courtesy of AeroVironment, Inc.

Wind Generators

The market for integrated onsite renewable power generation is expanding, and with this growth comes diversification. New ‘urban-sized’ wind-generators are beginning to enter the market on the heels of a silicon shortage that has slowed solar panel production and sent prices soaring until at least the first quarter of 2008. With low visual profiles and increasingly competitive costs, these new wind generators have a great opportunity to seize a foothold in the onsite renewable generation market. Furthermore, these new technologies can position the purchaser as an innovator. Hand-in-hand with this benefit, however, comes the challenge of finding a new technology that has been proven reliable, cost-effective, aesthetically pleasing, and comes from an established vendor.

One new wind technology is already showing a lot of promise. Named ‘Architectural Wind’ for its sleek design, this first-of-its-kind turbine was pioneered by California company AeroVironment, Inc. specifically for the urban environment. Its uncommon name comes from its uncommon design, birthed at BMW’s Designworks to be a form of ‘kinetic architecture’, melding both style and function to provide an attractive, visible commitment to clean energy. Unlike the common conception of the wind turbine, which often has blades up to 30 feet in length, Architectural Wind is designed with a minimal footprint in mind. The entire turbine housing is just 7 feet tall by 6 feet wide and has mounting options for roofs with and without parapet walls, making it a perfect fit for on-site renewable energy generation. Architectural Wind is quickly becoming one of the most cost-effective small on-site generation technologies available.

In just one year, Architectural Wind has achieved exceptional per-Watt costs. Below is a table that shows a summary pro-forma from one of Think Energy’s financial models. The model assumes that the Architectural Wind system is sited in a location with a Class 3 wind resource. Turnkey costs can range from $6.00 to $8.00 per Watt installed, depending on system size and site. If this trend continues, this small wind turbine and its contemporaries, such as Aeroturbines by Aerotecture, the Swift Rooftop Wind Energy System by Renewable Devices Energy Solutions Ltd., Urban Turbines by Ecofys BV, and Windside Wind Turbines by Oy Windside Production Ltd., will soon be leading the onsite generation marketplace.

* Energy Information Administration

The Future of On-Site Generation

The maturing technology in the small-scale generation field coupled with federal and state financial incentives puts these building integrated solar and wind generation systems within the reach of more and more buyers every year. Although the world is facing increasing prices for solar generation due to the continued scarcity of silicon, it is important to recognize the widening portfolio of small scale wind generation that is making building-integrated options more and more affordable. AeroVironment’s ‘Architectural Wind’ generator is only one of a growing field of small-scale generators that promises to fill whatever gap solar leaves in the coming years as well as provide an inexpensive opportunity for buildings to offset their rising energy costs.

Green certification programs could radically accelerate the adoption of these technologies if their point schedules attributed larger amounts of points to the implementation of these technologies. Only through the combined efforts of green certification programs, state and federal funding programs, renewable technology companies, architects, engineers and the publics can renewable energy succeed in diversifying the U.S.' energy portfolio.