CS-2009 EAc6: Green Power

  • CS EAc6 Type1 Purchased Green Power Diagram

  • Easy to research

    Pick up the phone, call the local utility and a couple of green power providers—companies that sell renewable energy credits (RECs), which provide funding to renewable energy generation, supporting its development. Give them your project’s estimated energy consumption. Sit back and receive estimates.

    That’s all it takes to find out what a purchase of offsite renewable energy will cost, so be sure to consider it—you might be pleasantly surprised. The credit requires you to offset only a percentage of your electricity consumption with RECs to earn points (see diagram at right). You can make a stronger environmental statement and earn an extra Exemplary PerformanceIn LEED, certain credits have established thresholds beyond basic credit achievement. Meeting these thresholds can earn additional points through Innovation in Design (ID) or Innovation in Operations (IO) points. As a general rule of thumb, ID credits for exemplary performance are awarded for doubling the credit requirements and/or achieving the next incremental percentage threshold. However, this rule varies on a case by case basis, so check the credit requirements. point through IDc1 by offsetting 70% (100% for CI projects).

    Why green power?

    Some building owners may hesitate to pursue this credit because they don’t believe that the extra cost brings a direct, tangible benefit to their building.

    Green-e logoRECs must be Green-e certified or the equivalent. Center for Resource Solutions

    However, nonrenewable electricity production is a huge contributor to pollution and global climate change1. Climate change refers to any significant change in measures of climate (such as temperature, precipitation, or wind) lasting for an extended period (decades or longer). (U.S. Environmental Protection Agency, 2008) 2.The increase in global average temperatures being caused by a buildup of CO2 and other greenhouse gases in the atmosphere. This temperature change is leading to changes in circulation patterns in the air and in the oceans, which are affecting climates differently in different places. Among the predicted effects are a significant cooling in Western Europe due to changes in the jet stream, and rising sea levels due to the melting of polar ice and glaciers., and buying green power creates incentives for further development of renewable energy facilities. The benefits of renewable energy are well-understood by the general public, and so buying green power can help you advertise your commitment to environmental responsibility. Many projects display their renewable energy certificates prominently.

    Making it cost-effective

    Many projects see this credit as low-hanging fruit, and may pursue it depending on how many points they need to achieve their LEED goals. Because the credit focuses exclusively on electricity (not natural gas, propane, or fuel oil) it is usually very affordable.

    Purchasing green power through your utility

    Many utilities offer a green power option for their customers, typically from renewable sources within your region. Instead of buying RECs from a third party, you can quickly get set up to buy the RECs based on a premium charge per kilowatt-hour that you consume. 

    What are RECs?

    The market for renewable energy credits (RECs) has exploded in recent years, but RECs are still an abstract entity that can be difficult to define.

    For buildings that can’t generate onsite renewable power or purchase it through a regional utility, but still want to promote renewable energy, RECs (sometimes called “green tags” or “tradable renewable certificates”) allow customers to continue to buy the same grid-supplied power, while also buying the environmental attributes of electricity produced by a renewable source. (The actual renewably generated electricity is sold separately to the grid for market price as normal power, while your REC purchase helps deliver extra revenue that helps make renewable energy production financially feasible.) To ensure quality, LEED requires you to purchase RECs certified by Green-e, a third-party program, or an equivalent certification program.

    You can buy RECs from specific regions of the country, and even from specific renewable energy projects, or project types (like wind or solar). Buying RECs from a specific source can increase the cost a bit, but also helps bring this intangible commodity down to earth.

    Wind farmThe Bear Creek Wind Farm in Bear Creek, Pennsylvania, with 12 Garnesa 2.0 MW turbines, was developed in 2005 by Community Energy, which sells renewable energy credits (RECs) from the project. Photo – Community Energy, Inc.

    Criticisms of RECs

    RECs, along with carbon offsets, which are similar, have come under criticism. This is largely due to the perception that they allow a person or a business to go on with business as usual, consuming as much fossil fuel as usual, and then simply write a check to assuage their guilt, without producing tangible environmental benefit.

    There is validity to these concerns, which are best countered by conserving energy through high-performance building design and location (earning other EA and SS points in LEED), generating renewable energy onsite if possible, and then buying RECs only as a last step. Focusing on energy conservation first has the side benefit of making the ultimate purchase of RECs more affordable, because you have less consumption to offset.

    FAQs for LEED and green power

    Can I buy RECs on the open market, or do I have to go through my power provider or utility, which also offers them?

    You can buy RECs from either source.

    Our project is outside the U.S. We would like to earn this credit by purchasing RECs, but there are no Green-e options available here. It looks like most Green-e certified power comes from the U.S. What should we do?

    Your simplest course of action is to buy any Green-e RECs available on the open market, including those in the U.S. There is no requirement for your RECs to be from your country. If you prefer to buy RECs from a project closer to home, you can see if there are RECs available that are certified to a standard that is equivalent to Green-e. This is less common, but has been done.

    We are pursuing this credit outside the U.S., and the owner wants to know if we can buy green power through a provider in our country that is not Green-e certified. We started comparing our national standard to Green-e and quickly found an area where the national standard is not as stringent as Green-e. Is this a dead end?

    Correct—you can't rely on your national standard in this case. The Green-e Standard exists to make sure that there is no double counting in the market and clearly addresses the voluntary market only. These fundamental issue of accounting and additionality are at the core of LEED's adoption of such a standard to define quality green power products.

    Our project will be net-zero energy, i.e. will produce as much or more power than it consumes. Can we earn this credit?

    Yes, as confirmed by LEED InterpretationLEED Interpretations are official answers to technical inquiries about implementing LEED on a project. They help people understand how their projects can meet LEED requirements and provide clarity on existing options. LEED Interpretations are to be used by any project certifying under an applicable rating system. All project teams are required to adhere to all LEED Interpretations posted before their registration date. This also applies to other addenda. Adherence to rulings posted after a project registers is optional, but strongly encouraged. LEED Interpretations are published in a searchable database at usgbc.org. #10219 posted on 7/1/2012, if the project produces 100% or more of its electricity as onsite renewable electricity, the project can earn the credit plus an EP point. However, you also need to take steps to ensure that if the as-built project does not turn out to be net-zero, that the appropriate quantity of RECs will be purchased to meet the credit threshold. See the LEED Interpretation for these details.

    We will have cogeneration onsite. Do the credit requirements apply to all electricity used onsite, or only that which is purchased from the grid?

    All electricity used by the project is the basis for the green power purchase.

    The owner has purchased RECs for a percentage of energy use of its whole portfolio of buildings, or campus. Can we earn this credit for a single LEED building with this purchase?

    Yes. Provide evidence of the quantity and term purchase for the campus along with an explanation of how the green power has been or will be allocated as applicable. If any of this purchase has been allocated to a previous LEED project state how much and provide a letter allocating the quantity needed to this project.

    We plan on pursuing this credit only if we need to do so to meet our certification target, i.e. if another credit we are counting on gets rejected. How late can we apply for this credit?

    You can document this credit as late as when you submit your clarifications for the construction review. You can even do it after that, and before you accept your final certification, but you'll have to pay an appeal fee.

    The owner purchases RECs based on an earlier prediction, but our energy model is now showing that we are just a little short of the credit threshold. What should we do?

    The owner will need to buy additional RECs to meet the threshold.

Legend

  • Best Practices
  • Gotcha
  • Action Steps
  • Cost Tip

Pre-Design

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  • Discuss with your team the possibility of purchasing green power.

  • You have three options for earning this credit. The best and most cost-effective option for your project will depend on your location and the offerings of the local utility. 

    • Purchase green power through the existing power provider. You need to verify that it is a Green-e certified provider or the equivalent. 
    • If your state has an open electricity market, you can find—and directly purchase from—a provider that offers Green-e accredited power. 
    • Purchase Green-e certified renewable energy certificates (RECs).

  • Most projects find it easiest to go with the third option, and shop around for the best deal on RECs. Others, however, have found it best to purchase through their local utility when they can get a better bundle deal and feel like the purchase is more tangible, so do some research. Utility green pricing map

  • This is one LEED credit that you can do at the last minute. However, if you are renting or selling space in your building, you may want to use the purchase of green power as a marketing tool and will not want to wait until the last minute to make the purchase.

  • Many projects see this credit as one for which you pay but don’t receive a tangible benefit. However, nonrenewable electricity production is a huge contributor to pollution and global climate change, and buying green power supports the development of renewable energy facilities. 

  • The amount of green power that you need to purchase for the credit is based on the quantity of electricity consumed, not the cost of the electricity. If your project is pursuing EAc1: Optimize Energy Performance through energy modeling, your focus is on reduction in cost, not quantity, so note the difference when doing calculations for this credit. For guidance on the calculations, see the LEEDuser strategy on step-by-step green power calculations.

     

  • If the owner is a corporation or a school district with a portfolio of multiple buildings, consider purchasing green power through a bulk agreement and allocating it to different projects. You will need to avoid “double-dipping,” where more than one project or tenant space uses the same green power allotment. 

  • If your green power provider does not supply Green-e accredited energy, it must have an equivalent accreditation. To qualify as an equivalent accreditation, a program must meet the requirements for renewable resources as detailed by Green-e, and the supplier must have undergone an annual third-party verification process equivalent to the Green-e process. You might want to take this route if your utility provider can provide the best rate.

  • You can choose to purchase two years’ worth of green power at occupancy, rather than pay monthly or yearly. In this case, you would purchase double the percentage of assumed annual electricity consumption to satisfy the credit’s two-year commitment. For example, a LEED-CS project would purchase 70% (or more) of the core-and-shell assumed annual electricity consumption. 

  • Projects pursuing this credit with a district energy system should refer to the USGBC’s District Thermal Energy Treatment document for specific considerations.

  • Some universities and large companies have already decided to purchase green power and therefore your project may not have to pay for it directly. Consult with the owner to see if this is already happening and you can use previously allocated funds rather than project funds. You will need to make sure there is no “double-dipping”.

  • The lower your building’s energy use, the less you pay for this credit (because you have less electrical power use to offset). Explore cost-effective ways of reducing electrical energy consumption in order to reduce the cost of green power. 

Schematic Design

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  • CBECS defaultsCalculate a rough estimate of the cost for purchasing green power based on the default numbers found in the LEED Reference Guide or through DOE’s Commercial Buildings Energy Consumption Survey database (see the table at right). See the LEEDuser strategy on step-by-step green power calculations and follow the steps for default electricity consumption calculations.

  • Green power prices can fluctuate like other utility prices. If you think prices may rise by the time the project is completed, lock in a low price by signing a contract anytime prior to occupancy. 

  • Running estimated calculations early in the design stage will help to give you a better understanding of how much the credit might cost. Just keep in mind that the cost may change once the energy usage is further defined as part of your calculations for EAp2 and EAc1: Optimize Energy Performance. If you are using an energy model per Option 1 of EAc1, the cost of RECs might change if alterations to the energy model are required after the LEED design review, but the change should be minimal.  

  • Especially if your project is very energy efficient, you will probably be able to pay less for green power based on your energy model than you would using the default values from CBECS. 

Design Development

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  • Continue to seek strategies that lower the building’s electrical energy use in order to subsequently reduce the cost of green power. 

  • Call several green power providers to get a preliminary estimate of the cost to buy green power for 35% of the assumed, actual or default electricity consumption. While you’re at it, also get an estimate for buying 70% green power and earning a point for exemplary performance or really go for it with 100%. Find green power providers on EPA’s Green Power Partnership website or the Green-e website. See the Resources section for links to their websites.

  • Green power is a competitive market with price variation. Obtain more than one estimate to find less-expensive options. 

  • Some projects choose to attempt this credit at the last minute and keep it as a “back-pocket” credit. For example, you may decide to go for this credit only if it helps you reach another level of LEED certification. A contract can be arranged at the last minute, and can even be submitted after the first construction review.

  • This credit requires only a few minutes to make phone calls, provide the size of the project and energy consumption, and get estimates. It is well worth the time and effort to determine the likely cost.  

Construction Documents

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  • Determine electricity use based on one of the following options: 

  • For LEED-CS projects, you need to determine the Core and Shell square footage (not the entire building square footage). This calculation is spelled out in the Building Owners and Managers Association (BOMA) standards as well as in the sample calculations in this LEEDuser strategy page. If the BOMA standard calculations determine that the Core and Shell building square footage is less than 15%, you are required to use 15% in the calculation rather than the actual percentage. 

Construction

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  • If you are using energy modeling, get a final estimate of the cost based on final model outputs. Remember that this credit is based on the quantity of electricity consumption (usually in kWh), not cost.

  • Sign a contract with the chosen green power provider. 

  • Submit documentation to LEED Online. This will include filling out the LEED Online credit form, which requires a number of inputs on total electrical consumption (or default values) and details on the green power purchased. You will also need to upload a proof of purchase for two years of green power—see the Documentation Toolkit for an example.

Operations & Maintenance

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  • If you do not purchase two years of green power at occupancy, you will need to continue to pay monthly or yearly for two years. 

  • After two years, consider continuing to pay for green power. Doing so can help projects that are pursuing LEED-EBOM certification via EAc4.

  • USGBC

    Excerpted from LEED 2009 for Core and Shell Development

    COPYRIGHT © 2009 BY THE U.S. GREEN BUILDING COUNCIL, INC. ALL RIGHTS RESERVED

    EA Credit 6: Green power

    2 Points

    Intent

    To encourage the development and use of grid-source, renewable energy technologies on a net zero pollution basis.

    Requirements

    Engage in at least a 2-year renewable energy contract to provide at least 35% of the building’s electricity from renewable sources, as defined by the Center for Resource Solutions’ Green-eGreen-e is a program established by the Center for Resource Solutions to both promote green electricity products and provide consumers with a rigorous and nationally recognized method to identify those products. Energy product certification requirements or an equivalent.

    All purchases of green power shall be based on the quantity of energy consumed, not the cost.

    If the green power is not Green-e Energy certified, equivalence must exist for both major Green-e Energy program criteria: 1) current green power performance standards, and 2) independent, third-party verification that those standards are being met by the green power supplier over time.

    The core and shell building’s electricity is defined as the electricity usage of the core and shell square footage, as defined by the Building Owners and Managers Association (BOMA) Standards, but not less than 15% of the building total gross square footageSum of the floor areas of the spaces within the building including basements, mezzanine and intermediate-floored tiers, and penthouses with headroom height of 7.5 ft or greater. It is measured from the exterior faces of exterior walls or from the centerline of walls separating buildings, but excluding covered walkways, open roofed-over areas, porches and similar spaces, pipe trenches, exterior terraces or steps, chimneys, roof overhangs, and similar features..

    Option 1. Determine baseline electricity use

    Use the annual electricity consumption from the results of EA Credit 1: Optimize Energy Performance.

    OR

    Option 2. Estimate baseline electricity use

    Use the U.S. Department of Energy’s Commercial Buildings Energy Consumption Survey database to determine the estimated electricity use.

    Potential Technologies & Strategies

    Determine the energy needs of the building and investigate opportunities to engage in a green power contract. Green power is derived from solar, wind, geothermal, biomass or low-impact hydro sources. Visit http://www.green-e.org/energy for details about the Green-e Energy program. The green power product purchased to comply with credit requirements need not be Green-e Energy certified. Other sources of green power are eligible if they satisfy the Green-e Energy program’s technical requirements. Renewable energy certificates (RECs), tradable renewable certificates (TRCs), green tags and other forms of green power that comply with the technical requirements of the Green-e Energy program may be used to document compliance with this credit.

Web Tools

Commercial Buildings Energy Consumption Survey

Use this website to determine the default energy consumption rates by building type.

U.S. Department of Energy – Green Power Network

This website provides information on pricing, marketing, and purchasing green power, as well as news and information. 

Organizations

EPAs Green Power Partnership

EPA’s Green Power Partnership provides assistance and recognition to organizations that demonstrate environmental leadership by choosing green power. It includes a buyer’s guide with lists of green power providers in each state.

Green-e

Search for green power or carbon offsetA fiscal unit measured in metric tons of carbon dioxide-equivalent (CO2e) representing six main categories of greenhouse gases. Aimed at reducing greenhouse gas emissions, one carbon offset represents the reduction of one metric ton of carbon dioxide (or its equivalent in other greenhouse gases). Carbon offsets are typically purchased by consumers of fossil fuels or products using fossil fuels, as a way to "offset" or negate their negative environmental impact. providers by location. Understand Green-eGreen-e is a program established by the Center for Resource Solutions to both promote green electricity products and provide consumers with a rigorous and nationally recognized method to identify those products. standards to demonstrate equivalency. 

Low Impact Hydropower Institute

The Low Impact Hydropower Institute is a non-profit organization and certification body that establishes criteria against which to judge the environmental impacts of hydropower projects in the United States.

Technical Guides

Treatment of District or Campus Thermal Energy in LEED V2 and LEED 2009 – Design & Construction

This document is USGBC’s second (v2.0) major release of guidance for district or campus thermal energy in LEED, and is a unified set of guidance comprising the following an update to the original Version 1.0 guidance released May 2008 for LEED v2.x and the initial release of formal guidance for LEED v2009.

Green Power Contract

You will need to execute a contract like this sample to purchase renewable energy credits (RECs), and then upload it to LEED Online to verify credit compliance.

Renewable Energy Certificate (REC) Pricing

RECA Renewable Energy Certificate (REC) is a certificate representing proof that a given unit of electricity was generated from a renewable energy source such as solar or wind. These certificates are able to be sold, traded, or bartered as environmental commodities, where an electricity consumer can buy the renewable energy attributes of electricty to support renewable energy, even if they are consuming generic grid-supplied electricity that may be supplied by nonrenewable sources. vendors often offer different REC products and pricing based on the type of renewable energy generation (such as solar or wind) and the geographical location of the generation, as shown in this sample pricing table prepared for a LEED-NC project.

LEED Online Forms: CS-2009 EA

The following links take you to the public, informational versions of the dynamic LEED Online forms for each CS-2009 EA credit. You'll need to fill out the live versions of these forms on LEED
Online for each credit you hope to earn.

These links are posted by LEEDuser with USGBC's permission. USGBC has certain usage restrictsions for these forms; for more information, visit LEED Online and click "Sample Forms Download."

The following links take you to the public, informational versions of the dynamic LEED Online forms for each CS-2009 EA credit. You'll need to fill out the live versions of these forms on LEED
Online for each credit you hope to earn.

These links are posted by LEEDuser with USGBC's permission. USGBC has certain usage restrictsions for these forms; for more information, visit LEED Online and click "Sample Forms Download."

Construction Submittal

HardhatDocumentation for this credit is part of the Construction Phase submittal.

40 Comments

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Alessandra Nasi Architect LEED AP Miranda y Nasi Consultores Ltda.
May 06 2013
LEEDuser Member

Fernanda Palacios

Hello,
Our company has a Project (in Santiago Chile) and we have a question about the additional requirement calculation for CS Core and Shell Credit 6, Green Power.
The credit says that gross SF for core and shell is the complete area of the building without parking lots.
So… what we need to add for usable square footage (USF)…just regularly occupied spacesRegularly occupied spaces are areas where one or more individuals normally spend time (more than one hour per person per day on average) seated or standing as they work, study, or perform other focused activities inside a building. or maybe another space’s?

Thank You.

Fernanda

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Marcus Sheffer LEED Fellow, 7group May 06 2013 LEEDuser Expert 19901 Thumbs Up

Usable square footage sounds like net square footage which is all of the spaces inside the building not including exterior walls, partitions, shafts, etc.

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Marco Abdallah
Feb 25 2013
LEEDuser Member
302 Thumbs Up

Core & Shell: Electricity Use

The electricity use determined by the whole buildinig simulation simulation in EAp2 is including also plug load on the tenant spaces (not part of the core&shell scope of work).
Eac6 is automatically linked to the whole building simulation of EAp2. Thus the energy use which is the base for EAc6 is including the electricty for the whole building. As the lessor who is the project owner just pays the electricity costs for the public area (not tenant space) the calculation base (electricity use of whole building) seems not to be applicable. Each tenant will have his independant electricty contracts. However it is not possible to adjust the numbers in the tempate.
Is there a bug in the template or what is the reason behind this?

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Marcus Sheffer LEED Fellow, 7group Feb 25 2013 LEEDuser Expert 19901 Thumbs Up

If the form does not automatically adjust based on the square footage of core space (see PIf5) then you can provide an explanation and calculations to show what you have purchased. Just work around the form if it is not working as you would expect. You can prorate the core space and only buy green power for that with a minimum of 15% of the total square footage.

RECs are so cheap that many projects just base their purchase on the whole building usage.

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Ai Engineering Ai Engineering S.r.l.
Jan 07 2013
LEEDuser Member
8 Thumbs Up

Green-e certified equivalence

Good day,

I'm working on a Core and Shell project in Switzerland and I'm trying to achieve the Credit for "Green Power" but the utility company is Naturamade certified and, after checking the Green-eGreen-e is a program established by the Center for Resource Solutions to both promote green electricity products and provide consumers with a rigorous and nationally recognized method to identify those products. Standards I found some differences:

- Green-e expected to be included only renewable energy produced in the calendar year in which the product is then sold, the first three months of the following year and the last six months. According Naturemade for productions between January and May, the certificate is marketable until no later than the end of May of the following year, year of production and consumption must, however, be identical (reference: Section III.B Green-e Energy - National Standard, ZK-L5B Guidelines for certification Naturemade).

- Naturemade allows the separation between electrical energy and ecological added value, which may also be sold separately provided it is shown that the second is not sold twice. Green-and allows this separation (from the documents examined do not think so, ref. § III.C Green-e Energy - National Standard)?
if this practice is not allowed, this can be an obstacle to the recognition of Naturemade as analogous to Green-e?

So to get the credit can Naturamade be considered equivalent to Green-e?

Thank you very much!!!

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Marcus Sheffer LEED Fellow, 7group Jan 08 2013 LEEDuser Expert 19901 Thumbs Up

There are far more than the two provisions you cite above that must be examined for equivalency. Basically you need to compare the major provisions of the Green-eGreen-e is a program established by the Center for Resource Solutions to both promote green electricity products and provide consumers with a rigorous and nationally recognized method to identify those products. Energy Standard (ignore the sections about US specific issues) to Naturemade to demonstrate equivalency. These include the eligible renewables, accounting, tracking, being power outside any mandates, etc. Basically create a document that does a side-by-side comparison to demonstrate equivalency. Perhaps Naturemade would be willing to help you make the comparison.

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Ai Engineering Ai Engineering S.r.l. Jan 23 2013 LEEDuser Member 8 Thumbs Up

Thanks for your answer, I would like to ask you one more thing.
Is it possible to buy RECA Renewable Energy Certificate (REC) is a certificate representing proof that a given unit of electricity was generated from a renewable energy source such as solar or wind. These certificates are able to be sold, traded, or bartered as environmental commodities, where an electricity consumer can buy the renewable energy attributes of electricty to support renewable energy, even if they are consuming generic grid-supplied electricity that may be supplied by nonrenewable sources. by an American Green-eGreen-e is a program established by the Center for Resource Solutions to both promote green electricity products and provide consumers with a rigorous and nationally recognized method to identify those products. certified REC provider for the project in Switzerland and obtain the "Green Power" credit?

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Marcus Sheffer LEED Fellow, 7group Jan 23 2013 LEEDuser Expert 19901 Thumbs Up

yes you can

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Maciej Bieniek Apr 11 2013 Guest

Hi everybody,
I have very similar problem. I am doing that Credit in Poland and we do not have any external certification organization. Our energy provider gives us only its internal certificate to prove that provided energy is green. I have read here that it will be probably not enough to meet this Credit.
You have wrote, that it is required to write and prove the equivalency between Green-eGreen-e is a program established by the Center for Resource Solutions to both promote green electricity products and provide consumers with a rigorous and nationally recognized method to identify those products. standards (http://www.green-e.org/docs/energy/Appendix%20D_Green-e%20Energy%20Natio... ) and energy provider’s provisions. My question is if anybody has got all requirements listed and could send me on my email address that I do not have to spend time on writing an abstract of it?

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Marcus Sheffer LEED Fellow, 7group Apr 11 2013 LEEDuser Expert 19901 Thumbs Up

Equivalency needs to be demonstrated for these provision of the Green-eGreen-e is a program established by the Center for Resource Solutions to both promote green electricity products and provide consumers with a rigorous and nationally recognized method to identify those products. Energy National Standard v2.1- Section II, III (excluding G), Section IV (excluding A), Section V.

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Rosamaría Mellone Green Building and Alternative Energy
Nov 29 2012
LEEDuser Member
518 Thumbs Up

Wind Energy

Hi,

We are working on a project in Mexico.
In order to comply with the credit requirments its valid to purchase electricity directly from a wind farm also in Mexico to get the points? (the wind farm is not green-eGreen-e is a program established by the Center for Resource Solutions to both promote green electricity products and provide consumers with a rigorous and nationally recognized method to identify those products. certified, but CDM)
or do we need to buy REc's??

We already talked with the green-e people, and say that the wind farm doesnt apply for getting the points. It dont understand why, if the farm produces clean energy.

Hope you can help me.

Best regards.

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Marcus Sheffer LEED Fellow, 7group Nov 29 2012 LEEDuser Expert 19901 Thumbs Up

There is much more to the Green-eGreen-e is a program established by the Center for Resource Solutions to both promote green electricity products and provide consumers with a rigorous and nationally recognized method to identify those products. Standard than the power source. I would suggest you read it and if you can demonstrate equivalency with the applicable provisions you can still use that power source for this credit.

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Naten Maniktala
Nov 09 2012
LEEDuser Member
59 Thumbs Up

Clarification of EAp2/c1 Resulting in More Electric Usage

Hi all,

Consider the following scenario: A signed purchase agreement based on annual electricity usage from the EAc1 energy model is submitted to meet the requirements of the credit. If a clarification request on EAp2/c1 results in a revised energy model which now uses more electric than previously submitted. Does the USGBC require you to procure a second purchase agreement to make up for the additional required green power to meet the intent of the credit?

If so, I'd be inclined to leave this credit as not submitted until clarification requests are made (and the energy model is finalized). What are your thoughts on this? Thanks!

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Marcus Sheffer LEED Fellow, 7group Nov 09 2012 LEEDuser Expert 19901 Thumbs Up

Yes you must purchase more green power to earn the credit.

Are you doing a split submission?

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Naten Maniktala Dec 03 2012 LEEDuser Member 59 Thumbs Up

Thanks Marcus, we are doing a combined submission.

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Vivien Fairlamb
Aug 01 2012
LEEDuser Member
510 Thumbs Up

Green e certified equivalence

We have an international project which will engage on a green power tariff with its supplier (indefinitely so not worried about the 2 year issue)

Q: has anyone had any experience of international energy suppliers demonstrating compliance with the Green E certified principles and being approved for this route?

any thoughts or experiences would be appreciated

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Marcus Sheffer LEED Fellow, 7group Aug 01 2012 LEEDuser Expert 19901 Thumbs Up

Make sure that some one gets a copy of the Green-eGreen-e is a program established by the Center for Resource Solutions to both promote green electricity products and provide consumers with a rigorous and nationally recognized method to identify those products. Energy Standard and addresses the major provisions in regarding equivalency with the product being purchased.

These include:
- qualifying sources
- age of renewables
- accounting system (vintage, double counting, etc.)
- not produced as the result of a mandate (voluntary market)
- any other provisions that apply

International projects obviously do not have to meet the location criteria in the Standard. Provide a narrative or table describing how the product being purchased meets each of the applicable provisions of the Standard.

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Jesus Deras Energy Analyst The Wall Consulting Group
May 01 2012
LEEDuser Member
83 Thumbs Up

Green Power Purchasing

When purchasing Green Power for commercial interior fit outs/Floor via the SF methodology, do you typically take the area of the entire space(including ac rooms, freight elevators, stairs,electrical rooms, etc etc) or just the occupied areas( offices, class rooms, hotel rooms etc etc). Also, can you take the gross square footageSum of the floor areas of the spaces within the building including basements, mezzanine and intermediate-floored tiers, and penthouses with headroom height of 7.5 ft or greater. It is measured from the exterior faces of exterior walls or from the centerline of walls separating buildings, but excluding covered walkways, open roofed-over areas, porches and similar spaces, pipe trenches, exterior terraces or steps, chimneys, roof overhangs, and similar features. of the entire building and just divided by the amount of floors to get the average SF and just use that number, or it that not specific enough?

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Marcus Sheffer LEED Fellow, 7group May 01 2012 LEEDuser Expert 19901 Thumbs Up

The square foot methodology uses CBECSThe Commercial Buildings Energy Consumption Survey (CBECS) is a national sample survey that collects information on the stock of U.S. commercial buildings, their energy-related building characteristics, and their energy consumption and expenditures. Commercial buildings include all buildings in which at least half of the floorspace is used for a purpose that is not residential, industrial, or agricultural, so they include building types that might not traditionally be considered "commercial," such as schools, correctional institutions, and buildings used for religious worship. CBECS data is used in LEED energy credits. data and CBECS defines the area as follows:

Floorspace: All the area enclosed by the exterior walls of a building, both finished and unfinished, including indoor parking facilities, basements, hallways, lobbies, stairways, and elevator shafts. For aggregate floorspace statistics, floorspace was summed or aggregated over all buildings in a category (such as all office buildings in the United States).

So I would use that square footage methodology to match the data source.

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Mathilda Jonsson Environmental Certification Engineer
Dec 08 2011
LEEDuser Member
425 Thumbs Up

EP

Hi
I would like a clearifying how we get the exemplary performanceIn LEED, certain credits have established thresholds beyond basic credit achievement. Meeting these thresholds can earn additional points through Innovation in Design (ID) or Innovation in Operations (IO) points. As a general rule of thumb, ID credits for exemplary performance are awarded for doubling the credit requirements and/or achieving the next incremental percentage threshold. However, this rule varies on a case by case basis, so check the credit requirements. credit for EAc6. Is the 70% based on the whole building's electricity consumption (including tenants spaces) or just the Core and Shell gross square footageSum of the floor areas of the spaces within the building including basements, mezzanine and intermediate-floored tiers, and penthouses with headroom height of 7.5 ft or greater. It is measured from the exterior faces of exterior walls or from the centerline of walls separating buildings, but excluding covered walkways, open roofed-over areas, porches and similar spaces, pipe trenches, exterior terraces or steps, chimneys, roof overhangs, and similar features. (as for the original credit)? Is it a problem it the owner provide the tenants with electricity and then bill them the cost?

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Marcus Sheffer LEED Fellow, 7group Dec 09 2011 LEEDuser Expert 19901 Thumbs Up

The purchase requirement is just for the CS portion of the building. The credit language indicates that you only need to buy green power for the CS square footage of the building. Same applies for exemplary performanceIn LEED, certain credits have established thresholds beyond basic credit achievement. Meeting these thresholds can earn additional points through Innovation in Design (ID) or Innovation in Operations (IO) points. As a general rule of thumb, ID credits for exemplary performance are awarded for doubling the credit requirements and/or achieving the next incremental percentage threshold. However, this rule varies on a case by case basis, so check the credit requirements..

Depending upon how the green power is purchased the owner may not be providing the tenants with electricity. In the case of purchasing RECs you are not really buying electricity but instead are buying the environmental attributes.

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Tiago Silva Eng., Sustentech Oct 29 2012 Guest 14 Thumbs Up

In the sequence of Mathilda's question regarding thebuilding electricity consumption, if a Core & Shell project purchases RECA Renewable Energy Certificate (REC) is a certificate representing proof that a given unit of electricity was generated from a renewable energy source such as solar or wind. These certificates are able to be sold, traded, or bartered as environmental commodities, where an electricity consumer can buy the renewable energy attributes of electricty to support renewable energy, even if they are consuming generic grid-supplied electricity that may be supplied by nonrenewable sources. for 100% of the whole building electricity consumption (i.e. with the tenant spaces) are these spaces able to use this attribute if pursuing a LEED Commercial Interiors Certification?

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Marcus Sheffer LEED Fellow, 7group Oct 29 2012 LEEDuser Expert 19901 Thumbs Up

I do not see why you couldn't do this. It sounds like a matter of allocation and quantities.

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C. Anthony Menefee
May 31 2011
Guest
93 Thumbs Up

Green Power -contract / purchase date

Is it possible for the owner to sign the 2 year contract and begin energy consumption before the building is completed and occupied?

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Tristan Roberts LEED AP BD+C, Editorial Director – LEEDuser, BuildingGreen, Inc. Sep 02 2011 LEEDuser Moderator

Anthony, I don't think this is advisable. I would date the beginning of the contract to the date of occupancy. However, I'm not sure there is any real difference in outcome so if you were stuck in that situation for some reason, I think you should be able to get the credit approved anyway.

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Anderson Benite
Jan 11 2011
LEEDuser Member
707 Thumbs Up

Electricity usage x gross square footage

Hello,

I have a Core and Shell building under certification that has 5 underground parking floors. According to LEED Reference Guide, page 612, "projects which contain underground and/or structured parking, may exclude that area from the gross square footageSum of the floor areas of the spaces within the building including basements, mezzanine and intermediate-floored tiers, and penthouses with headroom height of 7.5 ft or greater. It is measured from the exterior faces of exterior walls or from the centerline of walls separating buildings, but excluding covered walkways, open roofed-over areas, porches and similar spaces, pipe trenches, exterior terraces or steps, chimneys, roof overhangs, and similar features. used for the calculation." Therefore, I have excluded it, since the FTEFull-time equivalent (FTE) represents a regular building occupant who spends 8 hours a day (40 hours a week) in the project building. Part-time or overtime occupants have FTE values based on their hours per day divided by 8 (or hours per week divided by 40). Transient Occupants can be reported as either daily totals or as part of the FTE. Residential occupancy should be estimated based on the number and size of units. Core and Shell projects should refer to the default occupancy table in the Reference Guide appendix. All occupant assumptions must be consistent across all credits in all categories. would be super-dimensioned if I included this area in the GSF. The problem is when I get to the EAc6 calculation. Since my GSF doesn´t include the parking, I am excluding its electricity consumption from the calculation. (GSF - USF)*35%.
If I change the GSF only for this calculation and include the parking area, the template will accuse the difference between the credits. Do you have any idea how to proceed in this case?
Many thanks

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Tristan Roberts LEED AP BD+C, Editorial Director – LEEDuser, BuildingGreen, Inc. Jan 11 2011 LEEDuser Moderator

Anderson, the page you're referring to is part of the Reference Guide's instructions on determining default occupancy counts, if you need to do so. Those instructions are not intended to be used throughout your LEED documentation.

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Susann Geithner Director of Sustainability, HSB Architects & Engineers Jan 11 2011 LEEDuser Expert 7755 Thumbs Up

I'm not sure if the LEED Online form has changed recently, but we could enter the baseline building consumption (Owner portion of the electricity consumption). We calculated it for non-parking level based on the GSF and BOMA-Area (min 15%) and added the electrical users like garage fans, lighting etc. . That was our baseline for calculating the 35% / 70%. This approach was OK for the reviewers. We have done that in 4 LEED CS projects so far. To document it we have submitted a spread sheet to show the calculation with a brief explanation. Also be prepared to explain the differences between USF, conditioned, occupiable and regular occupied space.

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Anderson Benite Jan 12 2011 LEEDuser Member 707 Thumbs Up

Tristan,
In this case I don´t have the real occupancy and will have to use the FTEFull-time equivalent (FTE) represents a regular building occupant who spends 8 hours a day (40 hours a week) in the project building. Part-time or overtime occupants have FTE values based on their hours per day divided by 8 (or hours per week divided by 40). Transient Occupants can be reported as either daily totals or as part of the FTE. Residential occupancy should be estimated based on the number and size of units. Core and Shell projects should refer to the default occupancy table in the Reference Guide appendix. All occupant assumptions must be consistent across all credits in all categories. provided by the Appendix. Once again, if I use different GSFs, I will have different results for all the credits related. If I include the underground parking in my GSF calculation, I will need to have more Bike racks, my water consumption will be oversized, etc...

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Susann Geithner Director of Sustainability, HSB Architects & Engineers Jan 12 2011 LEEDuser Expert 7755 Thumbs Up

According to the GBCI website and our past experiences, you can exclude parking area from the GSF. http://www.gbci.org/main-nav/building-certification/resources/fees/curre...
"Project Square footages to be used for Certification Fee pricing should be based upon the definition of Gross Floor AreaGross floor area (based on ASHRAE definition) is the sum of the floor areas of the spaces within the building, including basements, mezzanine and intermediate‐floored tiers, and penthouses wi th headroom height of 7.5 ft (2.2 meters) or greater. Measurements m ust be taken from the exterior 39 faces of exterior walls OR from the centerline of walls separating buildings, OR (for LEED CI certifying spaces) from the centerline of walls separating spaces. Excludes non‐en closed (or non‐enclosable) roofed‐over areas such as exterior covered walkways, porches, terraces or steps, roof overhangs, and similar features. Excludes air shafts, pipe trenches, and chimneys. Excludes floor area dedicated to the parking and circulation of motor vehicles. ( Note that while excluded features may not be part of the gross floor area, and therefore technically not a part of the LEED project building, they may still be required to be a part of the overall LEED project and subject to MPRs, prerequisites, and credits.) which is provided in the LEED 2009 MPR Supplemental Guidance. However, all parking areas (whether underground, structured, or at grade) should be excluded from the square footage calculations used to determine the certification fee. Other spaces such as common areas, mechanical spaces, and circulation should be included in the gross square footageSum of the floor areas of the spaces within the building including basements, mezzanine and intermediate-floored tiers, and penthouses with headroom height of 7.5 ft or greater. It is measured from the exterior faces of exterior walls or from the centerline of walls separating buildings, but excluding covered walkways, open roofed-over areas, porches and similar spaces, pipe trenches, exterior terraces or steps, chimneys, roof overhangs, and similar features. of the building."
This is why we have excluded parking areas from the total GSF and calculated the FTEFull-time equivalent (FTE) represents a regular building occupant who spends 8 hours a day (40 hours a week) in the project building. Part-time or overtime occupants have FTE values based on their hours per day divided by 8 (or hours per week divided by 40). Transient Occupants can be reported as either daily totals or as part of the FTE. Residential occupancy should be estimated based on the number and size of units. Core and Shell projects should refer to the default occupancy table in the Reference Guide appendix. All occupant assumptions must be consistent across all credits in all categories. based on this number. Also we always used the default occupancy count, which was never an issue.
In regards to the green power calculation as I explained before, we calculated the buildings energy consumption. As for the energy consumption of the parking garage, we have garage lighting and ventilation fans etc. separated out in the whole building calculation (ASHREA 90.1). That allows us to show the consumption related to the GSF and the parking separate. We then just add the parking's energy consumption as explained before. If all this doesn't work with the new LEED Online forms (we worked with the Beta-Version) then use the special circumstances section to explain it and upload your calcs. We have been advised from the LEED Online team and the GBCI to do so.

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Anderson Benite Jan 17 2011 LEEDuser Member 707 Thumbs Up

Thanks a lot!

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Pia Öhrling WSP
Sep 21 2009
LEEDuser Member
394 Thumbs Up

Outside of the US

In Sweden the criteria for certified Green Power (run by the Swedish Society for Nature Conservation) does not match the Green-eGreen-e is a program established by the Center for Resource Solutions to both promote green electricity products and provide consumers with a rigorous and nationally recognized method to identify those products. criteria (large scale hydropower built before 1996 is allowed if the supplier funds money in a fund with the aim to reducing damage on nature due to hydropower. The fund is managed by the Swedish Society for Nature Conservatien ).
How should we do to fullfill this credit?
And is it possible to buy RECs in Europe?

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Gunnar Hubbard, AIA, LEED Fellow Principal, Thornton Tomasetti Sep 25 2009 LEEDuser Expert 1003 Thumbs Up

If the hydro plant does not match Green-eGreen-e is a program established by the Center for Resource Solutions to both promote green electricity products and provide consumers with a rigorous and nationally recognized method to identify those products. criteria (does not have to be certified necessarily as long as the criteria is met) then RECs are the only option. Yes, Renewable Choice Energy, based in the USA - one of the many REC providers - says a project could easily buy their RECs for a European, or anywhere in the world, projects.
- Gunnar, Principal, Fore Solutions

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Lana Malone Director of Business Development- Green Building Division, Renewable Choice Energy Feb 03 2010 Guest 921 Thumbs Up

Hi Pia!

We would be happy to put together a quote for your international LEED project if you are still looking to purchase RECs for EAc6! Please let me know! lmalone@renewablechoice.com

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Billy Ng Aug 30 2010 Guest 461 Thumbs Up

for international LEED project located in Hong kong, i'm trying to achieve this credit with landfill gas but the company does not have e-cert. Is there a way for to achieve this credit or is it possible to achieve a credit under innovative design?

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Mark LaCroix EVP, The CarbonNeutral Company Aug 30 2010 Guest 256 Thumbs Up

Hi Billy,

You can use certain carbon offsets from local renewable energy projects to fulfill the requirements of this credit. We have an extensive portfolio of credits in APAC. Our clients in the region prefer this approach because it allows them to invest in renewable energy ‘closer to home’ rather than investing in US based RECs. I’d be happy to provide a quote and put you in touch with our team in the region. Mark.lacroix@carbonneutral.com

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Tristan Roberts LEED AP BD+C, Editorial Director – LEEDuser, BuildingGreen, Inc. Sep 08 2010 LEEDuser Moderator

Billy, I don't know of a way for you to earn this credit without a Green-eGreen-e is a program established by the Center for Resource Solutions to both promote green electricity products and provide consumers with a rigorous and nationally recognized method to identify those products. certification for the landfill gas. An innovation credit would also not be an option, because an innovation credit has to cover something that's not covered by an existing LEED credit. In this case, green power is covered by EAc6.

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Lana Malone Director of Business Development- Green Building Division, Renewable Choice Energy Sep 08 2010 Guest 921 Thumbs Up

Hi Billy-

I agree with Tristan. The LEED CS 2009 Green Power credit requirements state specifically to:

Engage in at least a 2-year renewable energy contract to provide at least 35% of the core and shell building’s electricity from renewable sources, as defined by the Center for Resource Solutions’ Green-eGreen-e is a program established by the Center for Resource Solutions to both promote green electricity products and provide consumers with a rigorous and nationally recognized method to identify those products. Energy product certification requirements.

An additional ID credit can be achieved by offsetting 70% of the core and shell building's electricity as well. Please let me know if I can help out or put any quotes together for you!

lmalone@renewablechoice.com

Lana

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Anu Sumanth Architect | LEED AP, Hayes Group Oct 21 2010 LEEDuser Member 149 Thumbs Up

Hi Lana,
In the LEED 2009 BD&C Reference Guide, 'Exemplary performanceIn LEED, certain credits have established thresholds beyond basic credit achievement. Meeting these thresholds can earn additional points through Innovation in Design (ID) or Innovation in Operations (IO) points. As a general rule of thumb, ID credits for exemplary performance are awarded for doubling the credit requirements and/or achieving the next incremental percentage threshold. However, this rule varies on a case by case basis, so check the credit requirements. is available to projects that purchase 100% of their electricity from renewable sources;'
Could you please clarify the 70% mentioned above, is it Version 2.2?
Thanks,
Anu

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Lana Malone Director of Business Development- Green Building Division, Renewable Choice Energy Oct 21 2010 Guest 921 Thumbs Up

Hi Anu,

There is actually an addenda that states 70% should be used to achieve the exemplary performanceIn LEED, certain credits have established thresholds beyond basic credit achievement. Meeting these thresholds can earn additional points through Innovation in Design (ID) or Innovation in Operations (IO) points. As a general rule of thumb, ID credits for exemplary performance are awarded for doubling the credit requirements and/or achieving the next incremental percentage threshold. However, this rule varies on a case by case basis, so check the credit requirements. credit- see page 21 at this link:

http://www.usgbc.org/ShowFile.aspx?DocumentID=6392

Let me know if this helps!

Cheers,
Lana

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