The U.S. Green Buildings Council (USGBC) has given a research facility at the U.S. Department of Energy’s (DOE) National Renewable Energy Laboratory (NREL) a platinum designation under its Leadership in Energy and Environmental Design (LEED) Green Building program.
The 71,000-square-foot, $22.7 million facility in Golden, Co., is the first federal laboratory building to receive a platinum rating, the highest LEED rating system. Only 28 other buildings in the world have achieved the designation.
LEED recognizes and measures building performance in five key areas of human and environmental health: sustainable site development, water savings, energy efficiency, materials selection and indoor environmental quality.
Architectural features such as daylighting, evaporative cooling and efficient motors, fans, windows and lighting reduce the building’s energy requirements, saving 41 percent in energy costs.
NREL staff worked with the architect and construction contractor to make certain that 11 percent of the building materials were from recycled materials and that 27 percent of the construction materials were manufactured within 500 miles of the building site. This effort reduced the amount of waste to landfills and vehicle emissions from transporting materials.
NREL is the DOE's primary national laboratory for renewable energy and energy efficiency research and development.
