"Freeman Webb Goes Green to Be City's First Gold-Certified Building"
"Green Roof? The Daniel Boone Building Could Soon Be Earth Friendly"
"Power-Hungry Offices Turning Green"
"Solar Integrated Wins 3.3 Mln Usd Order From Germany's Dachland"
"Hispanic-Owned Marriott to Break Ground"
"From the Ground Up: Perseus Realty"
"[Open Energy] Supplies PV Roof Valued at $972,000 to Luxury Destination Resort in California"
"Bay Foundation Gives Cash to Help Build Nats' New Stadium 'Green'"
"Green Roof Takes Root at New Police Headquarters"
"Enjoy Your Green Stay"
"Green Roof Award"
"Days Are Bright for Solar Power Firm"
"Rooftop Gardens Helping Boston Go Green"
"Solar Power Has Bright Future in Area"
"New Community College Building to Have 'Green' Roof"

Freeman Webb Investments Inc. has applied for Leadership in Energy and Environmental Design (LEED) gold certification from the U.S. Green Building Council for its new headquarters complex in Nashville. If approved, the building—which is on track to be completed by the summer of 2008—would be the first LEED gold-certified building in the city. Franklin Webb broke ground on the site in June. Once finished, it will be three stories tall and feature a green roof system designed to minimize how much energy the completed structure consumes. Freeman Webb President Kent Burns notes the roof will have 5 to 6 inches of soil that absorbs precipitation when it falls. In addition, plants on the roof will keep the building's cooling costs down. Burns states: "We're not just talking about planters." The new building also will contain such other features as double-paned windows, carpets made from recycled materials and sensors in bathrooms that turn the lights off when the rooms are empty.
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In Columbia, Mo., some city officials want the new Daniel Boone Building to feature a green roof system that will make the structure more environmentally friendly. For the most part, the city's buildings are covered with rocks or are just black on top, with the result being higher utility bills. The Boone Building's new green roof system will not only slightly lower temperatures in the downtown corridor, it will also help better control storm runoff. The project is expected to cost between $400,000 and $450,000 but still needs city council approval.
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The National Resources Defense Council reports that office buildings consume more than 70 percent of the nation's total electricity while generating 40 percent of carbon dioxide emissions. Office computers alone use roughly $1 billion of electricity per year just when idle. To this end, more and more companies and service providers are launching initiatives aimed at making their buildings more environmentally friendly. For example, CB Richard Ellis (CBRE) recently stated it will assist its clientele with implementing energy-efficiency programs. CBRE currently manages 1.7 billion square feet, including 125 million square feet in large office towers. CBRE Senior Managing Director David Pogue states: "If we can drive down utility costs in those facilities just 10 percent, we can save our clients over $30 million. Yes, we want to reduce operating costs, but the long-term goal is to influence tenant behavior so that in five years' time, they will vote with their feet and demand sustainable buildings." Sometimes, the most inexpensive changes can make a difference, such as installing motion sensors in bathrooms and efficient Super T8 bulbs in lighting fixtures. Property managers are also encouraged to make sure that outside air ventilates commercial buildings whenever possible instead of recirculated air that is continuously cooled by chillers. Even retail settings are getting into act, as witnessed by Wal-Mart's plan to install solar rooftop panels atop its various stores.
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Solar Integrated Technologies recently won a $3.3 million order from Germany's Dachland GmbH for the sale of a building-integrated photovoltaic roof system. The new roof will be installed on a building owned by a Toyota Germany AG division. The project should be completed by the end of this year. Once it is, it will rank as the biggest solar roof system installation in Europe to date.
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Marriott International Inc. is set to break ground in July on its first Hispanic-owned hotel in Washington, D.C. The new Courtyard by Marriott lodging will be located in northeast Washington and will be majority owned by The Finvarb Group, a Hispanic business headquartered in Miami. Among its features will be a green roof system and 10,000 square feet of retail space. A 2009 grand opening is planned. Marriott pledged two years ago to have 500 minority- and women-owned lodgings systemwide by the end of the decade. Since then, more than 400 minority- and women-owned hotels have opened or are in various stages of planning and development.
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Starwood Hotels and Resorts has teamed up with Washington, D.C.-based Perseus Realty to build a 180-room hotel in the nation's capital. The developers are going the energy-efficient route, with plans for a green roof system atop the 125,000-square-foot lodging. In addition, they plan to use solar-heated water and will attempt to harvest rainwater for use throughout the hotel.
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Open Energy Corp. has agreed to work with Premiere Power Renewable Energy Inc. to install photovoltaic roofing materials atop the new Bardessono Inn in Napa Valley, Calif. Mark Bettis, regional sales manager for Open Energy, states: "The Bardessono Inn project is environmentally inspired, with solar power co-generation, water conservation, on-site composting and minimal solid waste generation. We are proud to participate with Premiere Power and MTM in this exciting project." The new roof system will be installed this fall at a projected cost of $972,000.
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The Chesapeake Bay Foundation has provided the D.C. Sports and Entertainment Commission with a $101,670 grant to give the Washington Nationals' new baseball stadium a green roof system. The 6,300-square-foot roof system, which will be covered in grass and other plant life, will be the first of its kind in any big league sports arena. The ballpark is on track for completion by Opening Day 2008.
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In Davenport, Iowa, the city's nearly completed police headquarters building will feature three green roof system areas designed to reduce the structure's heating and cooling needs and manage stormwater runoff. The roof systems were planted in late April and early May and are located above the building's entry area, its community room on the south side and its dressing room area on the north side. In addition to cactus and sedum, the roof system will boast a variety of grasses and eight planters containing sumac. The plants are being rooted in a kind of soil-less mix with nutrients. Underneath that are numerous layers of materials, ranging from a root barrier to a drainage stratum to a waterproof membrane to prevent leaks. Dee Bruemmer, Davenport's public works director, acknowledges that green roof systems typically cost twice as much to build as conventional roofs. However, she points out: "They last twice, if not three times, longer than a regular roof."
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More hotels are increasing their environmentally friendly practices to gain a competitive edge in the marketplace. In addition to responding to consumer demand, lodgings are finding that programs that incorporate everything from green roof systems to key card systems that regulate the use of power in guest rooms save them significant amounts of money. The Crowne Plaza Hotel Atlanta—Perimeter Northwest, for instance, has seen bookings increase dramatically for a boardroom renovated with bamboo flooring two years ago. New hotel construction is also being completed with green practices in mind. At the boutique hotel Greenhouse 26 currently being built in Manhattan's Chelsea neighborhood, the lodging's elevator will capture energy generated when it stops, similar to a hybrid car recycling energy whenever its brakes are applied. Currently, there are just two hotels in the United States that have been certified under the U.S. Green Building Council's Leadership in Energy and Environmental Design program. Several more are in the process of achieving such certification. PricewaterhouseCoopers lodging consultant Bjorn Hanson reports that 30 hotel brands have been launched in the United States during the past 2 1/2 years. He comments: "The challenge is to find distinctions, and some have clearly targeted a green orientation."
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Green Roofs for Healthy Cities last month awarded one of its Green Roof Awards of Excellence to Sanitation District No. 1's 3,600-square-foot vegetated roof in Fort Wright, Ohio. The structure was honored in the "extensive institutional" category for its holistic design and its benefits to the function of the building. The plant-covered roof system was built nearly three years ago and features chives, sedums, ornamental grasses and various drought-tolerant plants. General Manager Jeff Eger says the green roof system has made a difference in managing storm runoff, which is one of the biggest contributors to pollution. Eger notes: "Any time it rains, you can see the difference."
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HelioPower has emerged as a leading provider of solar power systems to commercial businesses and homeowners throughout California and elsewhere. In 2006, the company recorded $12 million in sales. Its most recent project entailed installing 1,600 solar panels atop an office building in Corona, Calif. Since then, it has contracted for a 500-panel project in Fallbrook's Waterbrook district and a 600-panel project in Fresno. A recent headquarters move to Murrieta, Calif., has given the firm triple the amount of warehouse space. This means HelioPower likely will be expanding its product line in the months to come. HelioPower offers a grid-tie photovoltaic system, along with a grid-tie inverter, that can be installed on nearly any structure. The company's photovoltaic system is made of solar panels that are installed on a south-facing roof at a 30-degree angle if the roof does not provide a natural slope to maximize sunlight exposure. The panels convert the sun's energy into direct-current electricity that is then converted to utility-grade alternating current electricity by the grid-tie inverter.
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Green roof systems are taking root throughout the Boston metropolitan area, helping in the struggle to combat global warming. One such example is the green roof system atop the Yawkey Building at Mass General hospital. Its plants and soil act like insulation, keeping the roof significantly cooler in the hot summer months. Steve Imrich, the rooftop garden's architect, states: "It has all kinds of enormous benefits to the building and to the local environment, as well as to the planet as a whole ... . Dark colored roofs get to be very, very hot in the summer and when you add up all the buildings in the city, it gets to be a very large heat problem for the city and in fact raises the temperature for cities." Another Boston-area green roof is the one being installed at the recently renovated Children's Museum. That green roof is designed by Plants Across Communities to capture stormwater for use in the building's plumbing.
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U.S. Rep. Joe Donnelly (D-Ind.) has become a vocal proponent for the production of thin-film, photovoltaic roof "shingles," an integrated roof covering that can generate substantial amounts of electrical power in residential and commercial settings. The shingles are actually thin solar energy panels made by Michigan-based Energy Conversion Devices and distributed in Donnelly's key voting region of South Bend and other markets by Inovateus Development. Donnelly states: "I'll take the lead on this and try to get this going. If it works for our area economically, we'd like to be in on the ground floor." Inovateus, meanwhile, has expansion in mind. It is currently negotiating with Proctor & Gamble to provide photovoltaic roofs for three of that company's buildings in Cincinnati, Phoenix and Sacramento.
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Sedum plants are covering the south-wing roof of the new St. Louis Community College (SLCC) building in suburban Wildwood, Mo. The green roof system is the first ever on a St. Louis-area college campus. About 1,000 trays of sedum groundcover have been planted atop the building, with each block weighing around 44 pounds dry and containing a half-dozen species of plant life. Dennis Dill, SLCC's maintenance manager, states: "Sedum is a hardy, drought-tolerant plant." In addition to serving as insulation for the building, the green roof has been designed to help overcome the "heat island" effect by preventing heat absorption into the roofing materials. The building has applied for Leadership in Energy and Environmental Design certification.
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