Standards & Compliance Briefing: WindMade Expands, USGBC, Green Globes

by | Dec 4, 2012

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The WindMade organisation will next year launch a consumer label for companies using any of a variety of renewable energy sources, including wind, solar and geothermal along with hydro power and biomass from approved certification schemes. The new label will be applicable to organizations, buildings, events and eventually products, and will be backed by WindMade partners UN Global Compact, WWF, Vestas Wind Systems and the Global Wind Energy Council.

The USGBC has launched the Green Building Information Gateway, a web-based tool that aims to provide greater transparency and understanding of the green dimensions of the built environment. GBIG provides a view of projects and credits, detailing the actions and activities of LEED building owners and project teams over time. The tool provides maps, analytics and insights that reveal trends, patterns and processes in green building practice, USGBC said.

Internap Network Services, a provider of IT Infrastructure services, said that its newly-opened Los Angeles data center has received the GBI Green Globes certification. Also, its Santa Clara data center has earned EPA Energy Star certification. The Los Angeles data center achieved a nearly 50 percent reduction in energy use for the entire facility compared to similar buildings through the use of high-efficiency lighting, HVAC systems and intelligent controls. At the Santa Clara site, energy intensity, or the amount of energy the data center consumes, is 36 percent below the national average, Internap said.

MetLife’s Rensselaer Information Systems Center has earned Energy Star certification, becoming the first data center in New York to achieve the standard and joining fourteen data centers in the US with a 2012 designation. As part of the Energy Star certification, MetLife worked with Cushman & Wakefield to perform several upgrades and enhancements at the facility including the installation of boiler system controls, upgrades to lighting control panels and the use of waterless technology, the insurance company said.

Littelfuse, Inc. announced two new products for protection of solar installations. The new SPFJ 70-100 amp fuses complete the SPFJ series of 1000VDC fuses approved to the new UL Photovoltaic fuse standard – UL2579 and meet the electrical tests for the new IEC photovoltaic fuse standard 60269-6. The SPFJ 70-450 amp fuses are for global applications to provide protection in array-combiners and inverters in photovoltaic and concentrated photovoltaic systems up to 1000V, the company said.

Transwestern’s South Florida office has received LEED Gold certification for Existing Buildings: Operations & Maintenance. The 13-story, 231,000-square-foot multi-tenant office building in Coral Gables, Fla., also earned an Energy Star performance rating of 90. Features of the facility, built in 1974, include an ongoing retro-commissioning plan to test, verify and improve overall efficiency, and a set of guidelines for purchasing energy-efficient office electronics and sustainable furnishings, Coral Gables News said.

Green Seal has awarded Hyatt at Olive 8 in Seattle, Wash., gold certification under the Green Seal Standard for Hotels & Lodging Properties. Hyatt at Olive 8 earned the GS-33’s highest level of certification for its practices in energy reduction, sustainable building initiatives and use of renewable energy. The 39-story building includes 11,000 square feet of green meeting space, and implemented environmentally sound housekeeping and dry-cleaning services. The hotel also holds LEED Silver certification and the Green Key Eco-Rating, Green Seal said.

The Napa New Technology High School in California has earned LEED Gold certification in new construction for schools. The design firm Ausonio Incorporated’s LEED Division provided consulting and oversight on the reporting process. Its current LEED projects include the Hartnell College Technical Training Building at the Alisal campus in Salinas, Calif., Cesar Chavez Library in Salinas, St. Therese Mission in Southern California, and the Sierra Nevada Job Corps Cafeteria in Reno, Nev., The Californian said.

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