Earlier this year I shared the good news that Richardsville Elementary School was working towards becoming the first net-zero energy public school. As you can imagine, that is quite an undertaking and will be quite an accomplishment when it opens. Well…..as good news would have it, construction is nearing completion and Richardsville Elementary is on target to be open by the end of August!

As principal architect on this project, Kenny Stanfield AIA and LEED® AP (Accredited Professional), described it:

“For our team, the goal of achieving a net zero school was simply the next step – to go from a proven, design operating facility (Plano) that requires only 28 kBtus of energy per square foot annually to a facility that needs 18 kBtus to operate.”

The design for this net zero energy school was even awarded the Green Design Concept Winner 2008 Green Education Design Showcase.

Now, if you are unfamiliar with the term “net zero building”, it basically describes a structure that generates as much (or more) energy than it needs to operate. It does that through renewable energy resources such as wind and solar.  This doesn’t mean it isn’t connected to the electric grid, but it does mean the building itself generates more energy than it consumes.

Besides the fact that it completely generates its own energy, Richardsville Elementary is a relatively “typical” school in that it has classrooms, a gymnasium, cafeteria, library, etc. Another difference though is that it was designed and built as a tool to educate students on the value of energy conservation, solar, water conservation, recycling and more.

Let’s take a look at some of the features that take Richardsville Elementary up to the next level in educational building standards.

First there is the design layout of the school property:

As you can see, it includes a full array of solar panels on the main building as well as the covered drop-off/pick-up area in the parking lot. Renewable materials were used during construction whenever possible and ICFs (Insulated Concrete Forms) were used as a green construction measure to provide smart insulation. Additionally the building was laid out in a north-south site orientation in order to increase solar output and naturally conserve energy.

As you can tell from this picture of the front entrance, the building has a clerestory spine running down the middle of the building. This was designed to allow for maximum natural daylight and minimal lighting costs. The windows themselves are made from Nanogel® filled sandwich panel glass to provide a nice aesthetic for the building without lowering energy efficiency.

This photo shows the rear of the school building, with the media center on the second floor and a covered outdoor classroom below it. The stair towers to the left and right are encased by windows and decorated by sunshades at each level to minimize heat/glare.

The south facing facade (classrooms) clearly shows the use of daylighting as well as the incorporation of sunshade devices in the design and practicality of the building.

The new gymnasium floor was made mostly from bamboo with the dark hardwood sections salvaged from the old gymnasium. Acoustical wall panels were added to give the room optimum acoustics. You can also see a bit of the clerestory daylighting in place here as well.

With regard to the kitchen area, Energy Star rated equipment was used and combi-ovens were chosen as a healthier option to traditional fryers and skillets. So not only will the cafeteria be energy-efficient, it will be able to provide healthier food choices to the students as well.

In terms of overall construction costs, the building and site itself ran about $12,160,000 with the solar/Photovoltaic costs adding an additional $2,753,124. Bringing the total construction costs to a little under $15 million. As the building is 77,466 sq ft, that breaks down to approximately $193 per sq ft.

One note though, as this is a net zero building, the project was able to get a federal bloc grant through the Kentucky Dept of Energy for 50% of the solar costs.

If you are interested, you can follow some of the final construction via the Warren County Public Schools’ webcam.

A special thank you to Kenny Stanfield from Sherman-Carter-Barnhart for providing me with photos and additional information on this great accomplishment of the first net-zero energy school – Richardsville Elementary in Warren County, Kentucky. For more information on Sherman-Carter-Barnhart’s other green projects, you can check out their website.

Congratulations to all involved! Building the first net zero energy school is definitely a historical moment and hopefully there will be many more schools following suit. I can’t wait to hear more about Richardsville Elementary once school is in session.

Image by Horizon2035

It seems like almost every day a new type of renewable energy resource is popping up. Especially in the wake of an incident such as the recent Gulf Oil Spill, renewable energies like wind, solar and even tidal power are gaining more and more interest.

Now each renewable energy, in its own right, is probably worth researching and tapping into, but let’s take a look at tidal energy for a moment. Tides are the regular rising and falling of surface water levels in oceans, gulfs, bays, harbors, etc.  Tides are actually the result of the gravitational pull of the sun and moon on the Earth as it rotates.

Here’s a video that gives a simple explanation of how tides are caused:

Although it isn’t a “new” energy, one of the main reasons tidal power is being looked at as an effective renewable energy resource is that tides never stop…the water is continuously moving back and forth, thus allowing energy to be generated in a constant and predictable manner.

Currently there are very few locations around the world where tidal power is being generated. The Rance Tidal Power Station was the world’s first tidal power station and in 2006, they celebrated 40 years of actively turning tides into energy. As of right now, they are also the world’s largest.

Nova Scotia Power’s Annapolis Tidal Generating Station is the only North American tidal generating station. It is situated on the Annapolis River where it can take advantage of the highest tides in the world found at the Bay of Fundy.

It is said that, “The force created by these mighty waters is equal to 8000 locomotives or 25 million horses..“. That’s quite a bit of potential tidal power. Check out the power of these tides near the Annapolis Tidal Power Station:

The Jiangxia Tidal Power Station in China is listed as the world’s third largest tidal power station, however South Korea is currently in various stages of construction on numerous tidal power stations that will each generate more than double the energy capacity of any existing tidal power station.

A relatively new form of technology in the tidal energy field is the Open-Centre Turbine from OpenHyrdo. The Open-Centre Turbines are one of the world’s first underwater turbines that are designed to rest on the sea floor.

They don’t require a large dam to support them and they are designed to minimize environment impact. One of their first deployments of the Open-Centre Turbine was in the Bay of Fundy for Nova Scotia Power. You can take a look at these videos to see the turbine en-route to its new home and it being put in place.

It has been reported however that this test turbine is no longer responding to remote sensors and additional test turbines have been delayed until 2011. Despite this fact, Nova Scotia Power still hopes to have an entire tide farm in order to capture the power from the tides in the Bay of Fundy. Maine is also currently researching and looking at tapping into tidal power in the Gulf of Maine.

As far as OpenHydro, they currently have projects in Nova Scotia and Alderney (in the Channel Islands). They were also the first company to install a tidal turbine at the EMEC facility in the Orkney Islands, Scotland, so I look forward to seeing what comes next for them.

When it comes to tidal energy, there is no shortage of resources. As long as the Earth keeps spinning and there is water in the oceans, we will have tides. The question then becomes, can we tap into this resource with minimal environment disruption? What do you think? Is tidal energy a strong renewable resource?

Well, the time has come again….Earth Hour 2010 is scheduled for Saturday, March 27th at 8:30pm. Millions of individuals, businesses, cities and government offices around the globe are gearing up to go dark in order to show their support towards creating a cleaner, greener and safer future.

It’s a simple action really, but with a global “joining of forces” it becomes a massive way for people to show they want to, and are willing to, do something that can make a difference.

Last year nearly 1 billion people turned out for Earth Hour 2009. 4100 cities in 88 countries on 7 continents made it clear they wanted to make a difference. Over 80 million Americans and over 300 U.S. cities pledged their commitment by going dark during Earth Hour 2009.

Landmarks including the Empire State Building, the Las Vegas Strip, U.N. Headquaters, the Seattle Space Needle, Gateway Arch in St. Louis, Great Pyramids of Giza, St. Peter’s Basilica in Vatican City, Big Ben in London, Eiffel Tower in Paris and the Sydney Opera House were amongst the many locations worldwide to show their support during Earth Hour 2009.

This year’s Earth Hour is expected to reach even further, with the WWF estimating thousands of cities in at least 115 countries will be active participants in Earth Hour 2010. Over 5.5 million people have already pledged their commitment and if you want to be one of them, pledge your commitment here.

While some may see Earth Hour as merely a symbolic act, others see it as a way to unite and show their desire to make a difference. In all candidness, what do you think of Earth Hour 2010?

As far as my personal view, I think it’s a great way for people to join together to show their support and interest in making this a better world. However, I also feel that many companies, cities and others may be using it as a way to make it appear they are “going green” and are making BIG changes, when that isn’t necessarily the case.

Let me give you an example…the State of California is listed as an “official Earth Hour state” and has pledged to turn off the lights on the State Capitol building during Earth Hour 2010. A number of cities and towns are also pledging their support, Mayors are signing declarations designating March 27th, 2010 at 8:30pm as “Earth Hour”. Over 90 California schools, 41 universities, 94 organizations and 278 businesses have also signed the pledge.

While all this is great news, why does it take a global movement to get these states, cities, governments, companies, schools and individuals to turn off all non-essential lighting? And why are they only willing to do it for one hour? If they were serious about making a change, not to mention saving money, wouldn’t you think they would ALWAYS turn off non-essential lighting?

You and I know that in order to save money and use less electricity we can do simple things like turn off lights when they aren’t in use, unplug unnecessary equipment or put them on power strips to prevent them from sucking energy when they aren’t in use, switch to energy-efficient lighting, etc, etc. Why aren’t companies, cities, governments and countries doing the same thing on a daily basis?

Take the WWF’s Climate Savers program. It’s currently in its 11th year yet only has 21 corporate members. The program is designed to work with corporations to improve efficiency and reduce emissions, yet only 21 corporations (albeit some of the world’s largest corporations) have gotten on board.

But did you know that the WWF estimated that by 2010 those 21 Climate Saver companies would have cut carbon emissions by approximately 14 million tons annually? Just think of what could be done with more companies on board.

For anyone who may be a little skeptical of Earth Hour, the WWF has no illusions about the impact of Earth Hour 2010. In their own “Blueprint for Individuals” they state:

“We know that the amount of energy saved during one hour won’t be enough to save our planet from the potentially devastating impacts of climate change, but that misses the true purpose of Earth Hour. Earth Hour seeks to provide a forum in which people can engage on climate issues and find ways in their own lives to become part of the solution to this global threat.”

So maybe, for that one hour on March 27th at 8:30pm you will plunge into darkness along with the millions and millions of other people around the globe who are attending Earth Hour 2010. After that hour…that’s up to you. You’ll probably want to check out some longer-term energy saving tips though, that might also help ensure your home energy costs don’t get you down.  See you there!