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LEED v2009
Schools
Energy and Atmosphere
Green Power

LEED CREDIT

Schools-2009 EAc6: Green Power 1-2 points

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Credit achievement rate

XX%

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LEEDuser expert

Marcus Sheffer

7group / Energy Opportunities
LEED Fellow

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Frank advice from LEED experts

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Credit language

USGBC logo

© Copyright U.S. Green Building Council, Inc. All rights reserved.

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-e Energy product certification requirements or an equivalent [Europe ACP: Green Power] [South America ACP: Green Power] [India ACP: Green Power] 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.

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.School districts can purchase green power on a centralized basis and allocate the green power to a specific project. However, the same power cannot be credited to another LEED project. Submit a letter from the company owner attesting to this.

Alternative Compliance Paths (ACPs)

Europe ACP: Green-e Energy Equivalent
Projects in Europe may use the following approved standards in place of Green-e Energy:
  • EKOenergy
  • Guarantees of Origin (GOs) with additional parameters
[view:embed_resource=page_1=4887966]
South America ACP: Green-e Energy Equivalent
Projects in South America may use the Brazilian “Certificado de Energia Renovável” (Renewable Energy Certificate) with additional parameters in place of Green-e Energy. [view:embed_resource=page_1=4908164]
Credit substitution available
You may use the LEED v4 version of this credit on v2009 projects. For more information check out this article.
See all forum discussions about this credit »

What does it cost?

Cost estimates for this credit

On each BD+C v4 credit, LEEDuser offers the wisdom of a team of architects, engineers, cost estimators, and LEED experts with hundreds of LEED projects between then. They analyzed the sustainable design strategies associated with each LEED credit, but also to assign actual costs to those strategies.

Our tab contains overall cost guidance, notes on what “soft costs” to expect, and a strategy-by-strategy breakdown of what to consider and what it might cost, in percentage premiums, actual costs, or both.

This information is also available in a full PDF download in The Cost of LEED v4 report.

Learn more about The Cost of LEED v4 »

Frequently asked questions

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?

The answer to this question is available to LEEDuser premium members. Start a free trial »

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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?

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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?

The answer to this question is available to LEEDuser premium members. Start a free trial »

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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?

The answer to this question is available to LEEDuser premium members. Start a free trial »

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

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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?

The answer to this question is available to LEEDuser premium members. Start a free trial »

(If you're already a premium member, log in here.)

See all forum discussions about this credit »

Checklists

Step by step to LEED certification

LEEDuser’s checklists walk you through the key action steps you need to earn a credit, including how to avoid common pitfalls and save money.

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Documentation toolkit

The motherlode of cheat sheets

LEEDuser’s Documentation Toolkit is loaded with calculators to help assess credit compliance, tracking spreadsheets for materials, sample templates to help guide your narratives and LEED Online submissions, and examples of actual submissions from certified LEED projects for you to check your work against. To get your plaque, start with the right toolkit.

Credit achievement rate

XX%

Upgrade to LEEDuser Premium to see how many projects achieved this credit. Try it free »

LEEDuser expert

Marcus Sheffer

7group / Energy Opportunities
LEED Fellow

Get the inside scoop

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USGBC logo

© Copyright U.S. Green Building Council, Inc. All rights reserved.

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-e Energy product certification requirements or an equivalent [Europe ACP: Green Power] [South America ACP: Green Power] [India ACP: Green Power] 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.

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.School districts can purchase green power on a centralized basis and allocate the green power to a specific project. However, the same power cannot be credited to another LEED project. Submit a letter from the company owner attesting to this.

Alternative Compliance Paths (ACPs)

Europe ACP: Green-e Energy Equivalent
Projects in Europe may use the following approved standards in place of Green-e Energy:
  • EKOenergy
  • Guarantees of Origin (GOs) with additional parameters
[view:embed_resource=page_1=4887966]
South America ACP: Green-e Energy Equivalent
Projects in South America may use the Brazilian “Certificado de Energia Renovável” (Renewable Energy Certificate) with additional parameters in place of Green-e Energy. [view:embed_resource=page_1=4908164]
Credit substitution available
You may use the LEED v4 version of this credit on v2009 projects. For more information check out this article.

XX%

Upgrade to LEEDuser Premium to see how many projects achieved this credit. Try it free »

Got the gist of EAc6 but not sure how to actually achieve it? LEEDuser gives step-by-step help. Premium members get:

  • Checklists covering all the key action steps you'll need to earn the credit.
  • Hot tips to give you shortcuts and avoid pitfalls.
  • Cost tips to assess what a credit will actually cost, and how to make it affordable.
  • Ideas for going beyond LEED with best practices.
  • All checklists organized by project phase.
  • On-the-fly suggestions of useful items from the Documentation Toolkit and Credit Language.

In the end, LEED is all about documentation. LEEDuser’s Documentation Toolkit, for premium members only, saves you time and helps you avoid mistakes with:

  • Calculators to help assess credit compliance.
  • Tracking spreadsheets for materials purchases.
  • Spreadsheets and forms to give to subs and other team members.
  • Guidance documents on arcane LEED issues.
  • Sample templates to help guide your narratives and LEED Online submissions.
  • Examples of actual submissions from certified LEED projects.

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?

The answer to this question is available to LEEDuser premium members. Start a free trial »

(If you're already a premium member, log in here.)

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 answer to this question is available to LEEDuser premium members. Start a free trial »

(If you're already a premium member, log in here.)

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?

The answer to this question is available to LEEDuser premium members. Start a free trial »

(If you're already a premium member, log in here.)

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?

The answer to this question is available to LEEDuser premium members. Start a free trial »

(If you're already a premium member, log in here.)

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

The answer to this question is available to LEEDuser premium members. Start a free trial »

(If you're already a premium member, log in here.)

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?

The answer to this question is available to LEEDuser premium members. Start a free trial »

(If you're already a premium member, log in here.)

LEEDuser expert

Marcus Sheffer

7group / Energy Opportunities
LEED Fellow

See all LEEDuser forum discussions about this credit » Subscribe to new discussions about Schools-2009 EAc6