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New NREL Building Will Be Among World's Greenest

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Jun 19, 2009 7:26 am US/Mountain

New NREL Building Will Be Among World's Greenest

Written by Paul Day

Reporting
Paul Day
GOLDEN, Colo. (CBS4) ― Rising up from the foot of South Table Mountain in Golden is a structure the architect calls a new benchmark in office design.

"That really makes this building one of the most energy efficient buildings in the world," claims Richard Von Luhrte, President of RNL Design in Denver.

Energy saving features may make the National Renewable Energy Laboratory's Research Support Facilities building unique, but the structure itself is easily duplicated, according to the owner.

"The goal here is to build a building others can build themselves," says Jeffrey Baker, Director of Office Laboratory Operations at the U.S. Department of Energy in Golden.

The Research Support Facilities building carries a pricetag of $64 million. Much of the traditional electrical lighting has been eliminated inside. It is replaced by natural daylight which, by design, penetrates deep into workspaces.

What happens when the sun isn't shining?

"Even on a cloudy day, the ambient light is sufficient to light the office space," Von Luhrte said.

He explains that during winter months when it gets dark early, supplemental lighting will be necessary, but the building is designed to be "net zero" -- meaning it produces more energy than it consumes. Solar panels turn sunlight into electricity.

Baker denies these cutting edge features could soon be outdated by the quick pace of technology. Instead, he believes Research Support Facilities should become an energy saving model for other new projects.

When completed in June 2010, the new NREL buidling will become the work center for 750 government employees who currently are scatted throughout Denver in leased office spaces.

That consolidation alone is expected to save taxpayers $120 million over the next 3 decades.

(© MMIX CBS Television Stations, Inc. All Rights Reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten, or redistributed.)

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