Much has been made about Great River Energy’s LEED-platinum certified headquarters building, as it was the first building in Minnesota to receive the USGBC’s highest designation.

But data centers can be an incredibly large energy user. The Great River Energy IT department helped ensure that the data center in the headquarters building would be just as efficient as the other high-profile building features. It may not be as noticeable as a 200-kW wind turbine, but it’s definitely just as important. The team recently completed a white paper that discusses how to evaluate and develop a green IT center.

Some key topics discussed in the paper include:
-Goals to avoid hardware purchases and maintenance costs; improve infrastructure manageability; increase application availability
-Incorporate efficient planning; the Great River Energy data center used a hot-aisle, cold-aisle layout with optimally placed HVAC equipment, 24-inch raised floors and EnergyStar-rated equipment, all of which serves to minimize energy usage.
-Working more efficiently across the company, including using teleconferencing and video conferencing services, all supported by the IT department; the data center helps enable that efficiency.

The U.S. Green Building Council’s LEED (Leadership in Energy and Environmental Design) program awarded Arrowhead Electric Cooperative, Inc. Gold Certification on May 17, 2010 for its headquarters facility located in Lutsen, Minn. It is the first LEED certified building in Cook County.

To achieve a LEED Gold rating, key areas of design and construction that reduce or eliminate the negative impact of buildings on the environment and occupants were addressed.  These key areas include:

• Sustainable site planning that decreased storm water runoff by more than 25 percent
• Safeguarding water and water efficiency by reducing potable water use by 53 percent through the use of dual-flush water closets, ultra low-flow urinals, and ultra low-flow lavatories.
• Energy efficiency and renewable energy includes a ground source heat pump, solar hot water heating system, and daylighting of almost 80 percent of the occupied spaces to reduce the need for fluorescent lighting.  All occupied spaces have sensors to turn off the lights when not in use.
• Conservation of materials and resources include the reuse of the existing building concrete shell, poured concrete walls with the use of fly ash instead of Portland cement, reclaimed tongue and groove paneling from the old building, installation of recycled glass countertops, reclaimed Douglas Fir for trim and the ceiling in the main lobby, cork flooring, recycled plastic carpeting, and recycled rubber flooring.
• Indoor Air Quality that is increased by more than 30 percent from pre-construction and the use of low emitting materials in adhesives, paints and sealants used during construction.
• Innovation in Design includes a green housekeeping program and a member outreach program.

The addition and remodeling of the Arrowhead facility consisted of the remodeling of the original building to better serve its original function as a warehouse space along with an addition to serve the office and support functions of our operations. Over 75 percent of the original building structure remained intact. The goal for the entire project focused on utilizing LEED standards as a tool for all parties involved and to provide an outreach program to Arrowhead’s members.

Facilitating the design of the headquarters was Architect, Melissa Graftaas, AIA, ARA, LEED® AP of Architecture Advantage, LLP in Duluth, Minn. This was the firm’s first LEED® project and is the first to be certified while they currently have another in the review process. The general contractor for the project was Johnson Wilson Constructors of Duluth, Minn. with main subcontractors, Stout Mechanical of Duluth, Minn. and Belknap Electric of Superior, Wisc.

Energy efficiency tip: When remodeling, look for recessed downlights, or “cans,” that are rated for contact with insulation.

Great River Energy’s Big Lake service center was recently awarded LEED (Leadership in Energy and Environmental Design) certification from the U.S. Green Building Council (USGBC).

LEED is the nationally accepted rating system for buildings that demonstrate energy efficiency and sustainability. The 41,500-square-foot facility, which opened in May 2008, features several energy efficient features, including geothermal heating and cooling. In addition, 34 percent of building materials came from recycled sources and 24 percent were manufactured locally.

LEED certification is awarded based on a point system; the Big Lake service center received 29 LEED points – three more than are needed to achieve LEED certification. A significant amount of the points were awarded in the “Optimize Energy Performance” category, largely as a result of efficient heating and cooling.

The facility uses a heat recovery system to recycle heat rather than exhaust it from the building. The geothermal system uses the relatively constant underground temperature to both heat and cool the space. The vehicle areas and perimeter office space are heated with in-floor radiant heat from the geothermal heat pump.

The Big Lake service center serves as a home base for specialized equipment necessary for construction and maintenance to the electrical grid, such as cranes and bucket trucks. The facility allows all equipment to be stored in an easily accessible indoor structure. Also, because of its central location, the Big Lake service center will serve as a storage location for large equipment that travels all over the state. Six full-time linemen are stationed out of the facility. In addition to the garage area, the facility also includes an office, shop material area and a large conference room to host meetings with technicians from across the state.

Great River Energy has two other LEED-certified facilities. Our Maple Grove, Minn. Headquarters is Platinum LEED-certified and our Bismarck, N.D. office facility is Gold LEED-certified.

Energy efficiency tip: Selecting energy-efficient office equipment – personal computers, monitors, copiers, printers, and fax machines – and turning off machines when they are not in use can result in enormous energy savings.