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Greenbacks drive green decisions
By Alexander Rich and Jessica Musicar, Staff Writers
Saturday, July 26, 2008 | 1 comment(s)
A solar-powered library?
Hybrid police cars?
The South Coast has never been known as a hotbed of environmentalism, but economic forces are pushing local governments to look in that direction.
In North Bend, for example, City Administrator Jan Willis said cost control led the city to install natural gas lines to the city’s fire department, pool and city hall nearly two years ago. It’s paying off.
“It’s actually has saved us a lot of money and it’s doing very well,” said Fire Chief Scott Graham.
Though rising fuel prices drove the decision, Willis said the change is conserving energy — and therefore helping the environment. Another environmentally friendly step was installation of energy-efficient lighting at the library in 2005.
Library Director Gary Sharp said replacing the building’s lights and ballasts with an energy-efficient lighting system has reduced the electric bill by 3 percent.
While he expects to recoup the cost of the project in about two years, Sharp said the change also is positive for the environment. He even hopes someday to install solar panels on the building’s roof to reduce energy demand and save money.
The city of Coos Bay likewise is considering putting solar panels on city-owned buildings and might buy hybrid cars for its police detectives. The department’s two detective vehicles, Ford Tauruses, are nearly10 years old and get about 13.6 miles per gallon, said police Chief Rodger Craddock.
Unlike a patrol officer, a detective doesn’t need the hill-climbing gusto of a full-size cruiser.
“If we can save on mileage, that’s obviously a compound benefit,” Craddock said.
Fuel costs motivated the Coos Bay School District to institute a strict no-idling policy for school buses.
Joe Thompson, the district’s transportation dispatcher, said the district was burning a lot of diesel by letting drivers turn on their engines while still in the bus barn. Now, they can’t even have their keys until shortly before starting their routes.
They also must turn off their engines while parked at schools or waiting to pick up sports on road trips. Those changes led to a 10 percent reduction in diesel purchases last year, Thompson said.
Buses that travel Highway 101 through Coos Bay may save additional fuel by stopping at fewer lights — and other drivers may, too.
As part of the paving project, the Oregon Department of Transportation is installing a new system that will better coordinate when traffic lights turn green. The existing system coordinates the lights between Market and Hall avenues, said Terrie Moxley, electrical supervisor for the department. If funding is made available, lights could be coordinated all the way to Ivy Hills Road.
“With this new system, we will be able to keep the signals coordinated much more efficiently,” Moxley said. “To me, it’s all about access to the highway. Air pollution. Fuel consumption. It’s all improved.”
Saving energy was one of the motivating factors behind the city of Bandon’s recent renovations of its community center, The Barn.
In the past, center revenue paid for basic maintenance, but the city subsidized utility costs. By upgrading the facility, the city hopes to attract more out-of-town users, which could increase revenue and close the utility gap. The Bandon City Council decided to power the facility by purchasing renewable energy.
That means paying as much as $80 more per month for a guarantee that the center’s electricity comes from a renewable source, such as hydroelectric, solar or wind power. Coos Bay’s proposed new fire station won’t go that far, but it too will feature recyclable materials and energy-efficient lights, said City Manager Chuck Freeman.
The fire station is designed to be LEED-certified. (See related article.)
The city of Coos Bay also has made some changes at its pool, switching from diesel heating to natural gas. There is talk about installing an automatic pool cover to help keep heating costs down. The pool is often left open to the elements because its covers are too cumbersome for quick changes.
The bottom line takes precedence, Freeman reiterated.
“It’s got to financially make sense for the City Council to consider,” he said.
Hybrid police cars?
The South Coast has never been known as a hotbed of environmentalism, but economic forces are pushing local governments to look in that direction.
In North Bend, for example, City Administrator Jan Willis said cost control led the city to install natural gas lines to the city’s fire department, pool and city hall nearly two years ago. It’s paying off.
“It’s actually has saved us a lot of money and it’s doing very well,” said Fire Chief Scott Graham.
Though rising fuel prices drove the decision, Willis said the change is conserving energy — and therefore helping the environment. Another environmentally friendly step was installation of energy-efficient lighting at the library in 2005.
Library Director Gary Sharp said replacing the building’s lights and ballasts with an energy-efficient lighting system has reduced the electric bill by 3 percent.
While he expects to recoup the cost of the project in about two years, Sharp said the change also is positive for the environment. He even hopes someday to install solar panels on the building’s roof to reduce energy demand and save money.
The city of Coos Bay likewise is considering putting solar panels on city-owned buildings and might buy hybrid cars for its police detectives. The department’s two detective vehicles, Ford Tauruses, are nearly10 years old and get about 13.6 miles per gallon, said police Chief Rodger Craddock.
Unlike a patrol officer, a detective doesn’t need the hill-climbing gusto of a full-size cruiser.
“If we can save on mileage, that’s obviously a compound benefit,” Craddock said.
Fuel costs motivated the Coos Bay School District to institute a strict no-idling policy for school buses.
Joe Thompson, the district’s transportation dispatcher, said the district was burning a lot of diesel by letting drivers turn on their engines while still in the bus barn. Now, they can’t even have their keys until shortly before starting their routes.
They also must turn off their engines while parked at schools or waiting to pick up sports on road trips. Those changes led to a 10 percent reduction in diesel purchases last year, Thompson said.
Buses that travel Highway 101 through Coos Bay may save additional fuel by stopping at fewer lights — and other drivers may, too.
As part of the paving project, the Oregon Department of Transportation is installing a new system that will better coordinate when traffic lights turn green. The existing system coordinates the lights between Market and Hall avenues, said Terrie Moxley, electrical supervisor for the department. If funding is made available, lights could be coordinated all the way to Ivy Hills Road.
“With this new system, we will be able to keep the signals coordinated much more efficiently,” Moxley said. “To me, it’s all about access to the highway. Air pollution. Fuel consumption. It’s all improved.”
Saving energy was one of the motivating factors behind the city of Bandon’s recent renovations of its community center, The Barn.
In the past, center revenue paid for basic maintenance, but the city subsidized utility costs. By upgrading the facility, the city hopes to attract more out-of-town users, which could increase revenue and close the utility gap. The Bandon City Council decided to power the facility by purchasing renewable energy.
That means paying as much as $80 more per month for a guarantee that the center’s electricity comes from a renewable source, such as hydroelectric, solar or wind power. Coos Bay’s proposed new fire station won’t go that far, but it too will feature recyclable materials and energy-efficient lights, said City Manager Chuck Freeman.
The fire station is designed to be LEED-certified. (See related article.)
The city of Coos Bay also has made some changes at its pool, switching from diesel heating to natural gas. There is talk about installing an automatic pool cover to help keep heating costs down. The pool is often left open to the elements because its covers are too cumbersome for quick changes.
The bottom line takes precedence, Freeman reiterated.
“It’s got to financially make sense for the City Council to consider,” he said.
What’s a ‘green’ building? One certification is official
There are plenty of ways to build an energy-efficient building. But there is only one way to verify a structure is a true-blue “green” building.
The Leadership in Energy and Environmental Design, or LEED green building rating system is a voluntary system used to rate a building’s environmental performance.
According to the U.S. Green Building Council Web site, LEED is a nationally accepted certification program for the design, construction and operation of high-performance green buildings �” such as Bandon’s rebuilt community center.
LEED is the only verifiable standard that a builder can use to claim a building is green, said Cascadia Region Green Builders Council Chairman Clark Brockman. Those who say a building is green without a LEED certification are practicing what is called “green washing,” Brockman said.
“LEED is very rigorous,” he said. “If they don’t do that, they’re just saying stuff, because they don’t have to verify it with anyone.”
The LEED certification system has five categories: environmentally sensitive site design, water efficiency, energy and atmosphere, materials and resources, and indoor environmental quality. An optional category for innovation and design awards point for developing a new solution, using new technology, educating or excelling in performance in another area.
Builders can achieve different levels of certification based on compliance with 69 possible points. A certified building must comply with 26-32 points, a silver-level building 33-38 points, a gold-level building 39-51 points and a platinum-level building 52-69 points.
Brockman said a new standard, stricter than LEED, has been established to offer guidelines for environment-friendly buildings. The next generation of green buildings will be those that pass the “living building” test.
Dozens of teams across the country are competing to be the first to build a living building, including SERA Architects in Portland, the firm for which Brockman works. A living building would be close to completely sustainable: Among other standards, it would produce all its own power, and collect all the water it uses and treat its own wastewater.
Brockman said such a building may go up somewhere in the country in the next year and in Oregon within the next two years.
�” Jolene Guzman, staff writer
There are plenty of ways to build an energy-efficient building. But there is only one way to verify a structure is a true-blue “green” building.
The Leadership in Energy and Environmental Design, or LEED green building rating system is a voluntary system used to rate a building’s environmental performance.
According to the U.S. Green Building Council Web site, LEED is a nationally accepted certification program for the design, construction and operation of high-performance green buildings �” such as Bandon’s rebuilt community center.
LEED is the only verifiable standard that a builder can use to claim a building is green, said Cascadia Region Green Builders Council Chairman Clark Brockman. Those who say a building is green without a LEED certification are practicing what is called “green washing,” Brockman said.
“LEED is very rigorous,” he said. “If they don’t do that, they’re just saying stuff, because they don’t have to verify it with anyone.”
The LEED certification system has five categories: environmentally sensitive site design, water efficiency, energy and atmosphere, materials and resources, and indoor environmental quality. An optional category for innovation and design awards point for developing a new solution, using new technology, educating or excelling in performance in another area.
Builders can achieve different levels of certification based on compliance with 69 possible points. A certified building must comply with 26-32 points, a silver-level building 33-38 points, a gold-level building 39-51 points and a platinum-level building 52-69 points.
Brockman said a new standard, stricter than LEED, has been established to offer guidelines for environment-friendly buildings. The next generation of green buildings will be those that pass the “living building” test.
Dozens of teams across the country are competing to be the first to build a living building, including SERA Architects in Portland, the firm for which Brockman works. A living building would be close to completely sustainable: Among other standards, it would produce all its own power, and collect all the water it uses and treat its own wastewater.
Brockman said such a building may go up somewhere in the country in the next year and in Oregon within the next two years.
�” Jolene Guzman, staff writer
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