Solar Energy Upgrade Boosts Competitive Edge for NH Manufacturer

By Ritchie Lafaille, Office Fellow

With two solar thermal systems and a 150-kilowatt photovoltaic array, solar energy has become an integral part of the manufacturing process at Wire Belt Company of America. ReVision Energy recently completed the expansion of the manufacturer’s existing rooftop solar array by 51 kilowatts. At the time of its initial installation, Wire Belt’s 100-kilowatt array was the largest in the state.

The Londonderry, New Hampshire, company manufactures customized conveyor belts, mainly for the food industry. McDonald’s Chicken McNuggets are processed using the company’s conveyor belts. The belts are also in use at Dunkin’ Donuts, Quizno’s and many pizza chains, including Papa Gino’s and Domino’s.

The expanded solar array will boost the company’s ability to hold down operating costs and will further its goal of eventually offsetting 100% of the facility’s energy use through renewable technologies, a milestone already achieved at the company’s facilities in Germany and the United Kingdom.

Wire Belt is a fourth generation, family-owned business and is one of only a few manufacturing facilities to achieve ISO 14001 registration, an international standard certifying the company’s commitment to the environment and its pledge to reduce, reuse and recycle natural resources.

Wire Belt CEO David Greer is a passionate solar energy advocate. With a background as an engineer and a conservationist, he says solar “just makes sense.” His interest traces back to paying his first electric bill. Solar electric and solar thermal systems are also in place at Greer’s New Hampshire home.

For a manufacturing facility like Wire Belt, solar energy curbs high utility and operations costs. “Manufacturing companies have many cost centers, and electricity can be a large cost,” according to Greer. “Anything we can do to drop our expenses helps to keep us competitive. Generating (theoretically) 40% of our own energy is like a huge relief valve. It is a cost center that we no longer really worry about, no matter what the electric utilities do with prices.”

Prior to investing in solar technologies, Wire Belt controlled consumption through the creation of an internal Energy Conservation Committee. Installing high-efficiency lighting, using occupancy sensors wherever possible and replacing the company’s HVAC system allowed Wire Belt to cut energy usage nearly in half. As Greer says, “I learned early on that the cheapest electricity there is, is the electricity you do not use.”

Wire Belt’s mission is to grow manufacturing in the state by operating as a lean, green, values-driven team. Solar energy improvements have paved the way for Wire Belt to pursue those values, and the company has received positive feedback for its efforts. The solar installations are a point of pride among employees. Greer says customers also view Wire Belt as an example for the manufacturing industry. “Many of our customers are very pleased. Some have said that they truly appreciate companies like ours, and want to do business with us.”

Greer has written articles promoting solar and believes outreach is important. “Overall, I am a conservationist. I believe that we should conserve and watch what we use and leave as small an impact as possible on the earth while not shutting down industry. Nowadays, capitalism is looked at as a bad thing by some. I try to be an example to my employees, customers and the community that there are good companies out there, just trying to do the right thing.”

A Practical Guide to Renewable Energy Terms: What are PPAs, Virtual PPAs, and RECs?

By Ritchie Lafaille, Office Fellow

 


With an increasing number of companies focused on going 100% renewable, driven in large part by the recent push to set science-based carbon reduction goals, PPAs, Virtual PPAs, and RECs are three acronyms that are thrown round a lot in conversations related to enterprise energy strategies. But I admit it—despite being entrenched in the energy industry for the last decade, my command of what these acronyms really meant was limited at best. Sure, I could tell you that PPA stood for Power Purchase Agreement or that a REC was a renewable energy certificate, but I didn’t really understand what they were. I asked a few people to explain it to me, but mostly what I got was a lot of super technical, highly wonky, mostly incomprehensible answers—a byproduct of working with a lot of exceptionally smart people. So I googled, and well, that wasn’t exactly helpful either (as demonstrated below). 

Fortunately, my colleague George Favaloro, Managing Director of Sustainable Business Solutions at PwC and co-author of our recently released strategy brief, has a lot of experience explaining really technical concepts to people like me, and he was able to fill in the blanks.

The definitions below are purposefully meant to be comprehensible, not comprehensive. It won’t make you an expert, but at least the next time you hear these terms in conversation, you can nod along without feeling totally out of the loop.

Power Purchase Agreement, or PPA

From Wikipedia:

A power purchase agreement (PPA), or electricity power agreement, is a contract between two parties, one which generates electricity (the seller) and one which is looking to purchase electricity (the buyer). The PPA defines all of the commercial terms for the sale of electricity between the two parties, including when the project will begin commercial operation, schedule for delivery of electricity, penalties for under delivery, payment terms, and termination. A PPA is the principal agreement that defines the revenue and credit quality of a generating project and is thus a key instrument of project finance.

EnergySMART Translation:

Instead of investing your own capital and resources to install renewable technology, you can buy power via a PPA from a company that will handle all aspects of getting the project up and running, including the financing. In a PPA, the “seller” builds or installs the technology (e.g., a solar array or a wind farm) and the “buyer” buys the power on a per kWh basis.

Virtual Power Purchase Agreement, or virtual PPA

From Greenbiz:

A virtual PPA is basically a form of price hedge. A company enters into a contract to pay a renewable energy project on an agreed take-off price. The renewable energy project sells the generated power into the local wholesale market on a merchant basis. The project pays the company if the electricity is sold into the market above the agreed contract price, and the company pays the project the difference if the electricity falls below the agreed price.

EnergySMART Translation:

In a virtual PPA, the company developing the renewable project sells the power to the grid when the project is complete. In order to get financing, the developer enters into a Virtual PPA with a third party—let’s call that party ACME Co. ACME Co. guarantees the owner of the renewable project a certain fixed price for the electricity it sells to the grid. If the electricity sells for less than the guaranteed amount, ACME Co. will pay the difference; if the electricity sells to the grid for more than the fixed price, ACME Co. will actually make money. In this arrangement, there are a few benefits for all parties: The developer of the solar array or wind farm has the price security it needs to get financing for the project, and ACME Co. has the opportunity to make money.

However, the bigger (and more common) value proposition to ACME is that by virtue of the VPPA, ACME Co. can claim credit for bringing renewable energy onto the grid. This is one way that companies can go “100% renewable” without ever having to put in onsite renewable generation or directly source energy from renewable power. Importantly—in this scenario, only the company that holds and “retires” the renewable energy certificates can take credit for the carbon reductions. Even if someone else actually buys the power generated from that particular wind or solar installation, ACME Co. can claim the carbon reduction if it retires the RECs.

RECs, or Renewable Energy Certificates

From Wikipedia:

Renewable Energy Certificates (RECs) are tradable, non-tangible energy commodities in the United States that represent proof that 1 megawatt-hour (MWh) of electricity was generated from an eligible renewable energy resource (renewable electricity) and was fed into the shared system of power lines which transport energy. Renewable Energy Certificates provide a mechanism for the purchase of renewable energy that is added to and pulled from the electrical grid.

EnergySMART Translation:

Power on the grid comes from all sorts of sources: coal, nuclear, natural gas, renewables. Once it’s on the grid, it’s all blended together. So, as an end user, you can’t really tell where that exact megawatt hour you’re using comes from. RECs are a way for businesses to certify that they have a valid claim to the carbon reductions from a specific project. These certificates provide verification that a business’ support for renewable energy had an impact on the grid.

Even if your business has yet to start the conversation around renewables, it won’t be long until outside factors force the issue. Pressure from consumers, business partners, employees, and investors are all pushing businesses to aggressively pursue sustainability goals. And with the recent extension of Production Tax Credit (PTC) and Investment Tax Credit (ITC) that have benefited wind and solar, respectively, companies can save money and lock in low energy rates, and companies that don’t could be at a disadvantage over the long term.

 

Join us at the Advocacy Round Table

By Ritchie Lafaille, Office Fellow

Legislation and policy drives our industry, but who drives changes in legislation and law? 

Join our Advocacy committee as they interpret, suggest updates to, and advocate for advances in laws and policy related to green buildings. All are welcome to join in this high level discussion. 


Current priorites on the state-wide front include the following issues:

Also, we are tracking other initiatives including:

  • Building Energy Benchmarking (BERDO & BEUDO)
  • The MA “Stretch Code” for energy efficiency
  • The greening of the MLS and the residential market transformation
  • Energy efficiency education

When:

September 15th, 2016 5:30 PM   through   7:00 PM

Location:

50 Milk St, 15th Floor
“Aristotle” Conf Room
Boston, 02109

Contact us at info@usgbcma.org for any question or concern

USGBC opens LEED Lab in India

By Ritchie Lafaille, Office Associate

The U.S. Green Building Council (USGBC) announced the launch of a Leadership in Energy and Environmental Design (LEED) Lab in India.

In the LEED Lab course, students learn the principles of LEED and assess the performance of existing facilities on campus, choosing one building where they will facilitate the LEED Building Operations and Maintenance (LEED O+M) process. Students drive the complete process of
LEED O+M on a campus facility, with the goal of certifying the building.

The LEED Lab has been adopted by The Knowledge Institute of Technology (KIOT), Salem, Tamil Nadu, India, which will begin its first LEED Lab session in August. KIOT believes the concept of LEED Lab will allow students to jump-start their careers upon graduation and participation in the course will serve as inspiration to other Indian colleges for adoption.

The LEED Lab effort originated with a pilot course created and taught by Assistant Professor Patricia Andrasik at the Catholic University of America (CUA). From 2011–2014, CUA partnered with the Center for Green Schools at USGBC and GBCI to test the course concept. LEED Lab officially launched in January 2014, and since then, it has gone global with LEED Labs in 19 different institutions of higher education across the globe, including North America, Latin America, the Middle East, East Asia and South Asia.

 “LEED Lab is a key educational tool to prepare students for competitive 21st century careers in sustainability,” says Mahesh Ramanujam, chief operating officer, USGBC, and president, Green Business Certification Inc. (GBCI). “By educating the next generation of sustainability advocates in India, KIOT is committed to transforming existing campus facilities across India into more sustainable environments, while also providing students with the hands-on-experiences required to enter the workforce. I want to thank KIOT’s principal, Dr. P.S.S. Srinivasan, and the rest of the leadership at KIOT, for partnering with us to nurture and train a workforce that will be essential to addressing India’s future sustainability needs.”

LEED Lab is also designed to provide students with actual LEED project experience and an opportunity to experiment on ways to certify existing campus facilities through direct collaboration with faculty and a third-party green organization.

Member Spotlight: Matthew Rice

By Ritchie Lafaille, Office Fellow

 


Matthew Rice, AIA, LEED AP BD+C, MCPPO 

 

Mr. Rice is a Senior Associate and Project Architect at SMMA with over 15 years of professional experience. During his career, he has focused on large and complex projects in the institutional market including high schools for Quincy, Swampscott, Bridgewater-Raynham Regional School District and Turners Falls. Currently, he is engaged in two comprehensive – combined academic and vocational – high schools for the cities of Somerville and Waltham. Each of these projects are opportunities to support what he sees as the future of education, the melding ofexperiential and theoretical learning, where each energizes the other.  

These projects also support his interest in mitigating and reversing the adverse environmental impacts that can stem from design and construction. The magnitude of these projects represents a tremendous opportunity to positively affect municipal energy consumption. And, as educational projects, they also offer an opportunity to instruct future generations on the importance of sustainability, and therefore multiply the positive ecological impact. Matt supports his passion for sustainable design by committing to the latest uses of digital technology, enabling him to better guide the design process through programming, visualization, and information modeling.

As a certified LEED AP, Matt is especially supportive of the USGBC’s LEED rating system, having found that it creates a framework with which SMMA can engage in meaningful discussions with clients about sustainability. Even when clients do not pursue LEED certification, the rubric still aids in prioritizing targeted sustainable design features.

 

Check out SMMA’s Sustainability in Schools for more information on how the firm and Matt support sustainable school design. 

Join the Residential Green Building Committee Meeting

By Ritchie Lafaille, Office Fellow

The Residential Green Building Committee is focused on improving the housing stock of the Commonwealth by championing green building practices in our communities. Join us on the second Monday of each month to be a part of the movement.

Residential Green Building Committee 

The committee’s objectives are to work to raise the awareness of the benefits of residential green building and remodeling and to increase the quantity of projects registering for LEED for Homes. The committee, through education and outreach, will focus on the following:

  • Hold across MA, Lunch and LEED, education sessions and tours on topics such as Zero Net Energy, Deep Energy Retrofits and REGREEN
  • Help the community understand and implement LEED for Homes and residential green building, remodeling and retrofits
  • Ensure that our target markets are aware of available green building tools and resources
  • Partner with other Green Building Programs
  • Establish a collaborative relationship with a professional and/or community organizations
  • Develop case studies and green residential building content for the USGBC MA website

Please contact Kimberly Le (le.kimberly.c@gmail.com) if you are interested in joining this committee or plan on attending an upcoming meeting.

When:

September 12th, 2016 5:45 PM   through   8:00 PM

Location:

50 Milk St, 15th Floor
“Aristotle” Conf Room
Boston, 02109

LEED Exam Prep – Join us!

By Ritchie Lafaille, Office Fellow

We are offering an Exam Prep Course for the LEED Green Associate Exam!

Tuesday, September 13 from 8:30 am to 4:30 pm
50 Milk Street, “Hercules” Room

Register here or below.

The day-long curriculum is designed to cover the segments of the Green Associate Exam and to lightly cover theAP specialty exams. If you have specific questions regarding a specialty exam, feel free to bring these questions to class and have the instructor cover these identified areas. 

Come join us for this session! We have only had positive feedback and success stories from previous classes.

The Green Associate preparation course will cover most of the material on the LEED Green Associate exam. You should plan to spend an additional 10-20 hours of study time outside of this class. This time will be best spent reviewing the reading materials listed below while paying particular attention to concepts and terminology. The LEED Green Associate Handbook references hundreds of pages of reading materials, while this class will focus primarily on the 106-page LEED Core Concepts Guide.  As part of this fast-tracked course, we will skim some reading materials and skip other reading materials.  

Students who have passed the exam have reported that local study partners and/or study groups have been very helpful. This is your chance to meet local professionals in the same boat as you!

Hope to see you there. LEED on!

 

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WELL Exam: Have you started preparing?

By Ritchie Lafaille, Office Associate

Don't let your goal of becoming a WELL Accredited Professional get pushed back! There's still time to get ahead of the curve by getting certified with the newest building standard.

Wednesday, September 14 from 8:30 am to 4:30 pm
50 Milk Street, Boston (“Hemingway” Conference Room , Floor 18)

Register here or below.

In this full-day course, we'll be going over topics you'll see on the AP exam, and you'll meet local professionals with whom you can form study groups. A light breakfast, full lunch, and snacks will be provided throughout the day, and a hard-copy exam study guide will be provided to all students.

We also have other dates for WELL Exam Prep sessions, if this doesn't fit your schedule! Check out our Eventbrite page!

 


Other helpful links:
WELL Intro + Discussion
What is WELL? What does it mean for the building industry? Is it worth your time? Get all your questions answered at our introductory session!

WELL AP Exam Registration

Learn more about WELL

 

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Update on Project Haiti

By Ritchie Lafaille, Office Associate

Back in 2012, the USGBC and the architecture firm HOK initiated “Project Haiti” with the goal of replacing an orphanage and children’s center that was severely damaged in the 2010 earthquake. After visiting Haiti with former president Clinton, Rick Fedrizzi, CEO of the USGBC,
thought it was a great opportunity to support the people of this country by building an establishment under the LEED and WELL building standards. However, due to various complications, with the legal system especially, the project was suspended for almost 3 years.


Nonetheless, Roger Limoges, the Project Manager and a Senior VP at USGBC is not giving up. Now with the help of McLennan Design, Miyamoto International, and a few Haitian-owned companies, the project is due to begin in the middle of next month – the establishment will be named “the William Jefferson Clinton Children's Center “. These past few years have helped Roger and the project team learn a lot about the Haitian culture and understand how to deal with various obstacles that they face. The project is aiming to achieve a platinum-level certification and most importantly to show that, with commitment, obtaining such certification is possible in any part of the world. 

Fondation Enfant Jesus (FEJ) is also a major collaborator on this project. FEJ is a non-denominational non-profit organization based in Haiti that aims to break the cycle of poverty by promoting sustainable human development for impoverished children and their families through a robust full-life development program including culturally-sensitive education, child and family advocacy, health services, and community building. Their assistance is gladly appreciated and very important to this project.

Since the introduction of the LEED building standard in Haiti, a few establishments were inspired to achieve a certification. Citi Haiti, a local bank, is the first building on the entire island to obtain a LEED certification. They managed to reduce its use of electricity by 20%. The indoor environment and water system were largely improved, 50% of their parking area in now covered, and the collection and storage of recycles was implemented. This is a proud accomplishment for Haiti and for the USGBC.

This experience had taught the project team of USGBC how communities around the world can be very different and how we can collaborate with local organizations and foundations through the methods of LEED to change the built environment. As of future LEED projects in Haiti, nothing is yet planned, but it is impossible to go to Haiti and not fall in love with the people, the culture, and the idea to build more sustainable sites. You can count on the USGBC to bring many other projects to Haiti and across the globe.

EARLY BIRD DISCOUNTS END IN TWO DAYS!

By Rachael Berry, Graphics Associate




Want to go to the Green Building Showcase, but haven't bought your ticket yet? Well get off that procrastinating bottom, ignite that mouse clicking right hand and start talking to your firm because EARLY BIRD DISCOUNTS END IN TWO DAYS!

If you haven't heard about the Green Building Showcase by now, then you have no idea what you've been missing out on. We provided you with a video testimonal from our Board to get you excited about the upcoming event- and don't worry if you're already up to date on all things Showcase then get inspired and go buy your ticket! Ticket discounts are ending this Friday!

Firstly, a little Showcase Recap (just in case you're one of those stealthy people who have immpresively been able to avoid it)

Why do you want to go?

  • Check out Boston Propertie's fancy new- and highly sustainable, LEED certified building at 888 Boylston St. 
  • To celebrate Green Buildings!

Why do you NEED to go? 

  • Open Bar. Do I need to say more?
  • Network- We assemble a large collection of green building professionals, so come and make some business connections! 
  • Your work has the potential to inspire others, and keep the conversation about green building happening.
  • Recognition- Your project could be good enough to earn an award, and as an attendee you can vote for other incredible and innovative projects.

When will it be?

THURSDAY, SEPTEMBER 22, 2016
5:30 – 8:00 PM

Where will it be?

Address: 888 Boylston Street, Back Bay, Boston, MA 02116

For more information and details check our Showcase page, and get moving! Early Bird Discounts will soon be over!