HomeMy WebLinkAboutLaw and Justice Center Public Comment, Bilo 7-21-14
To: The City of Bozeman Commission
From: Susan Bilo, Bozeman Citizen
Regarding: Law & Justice Center
Date: July 19, 2014
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Montana State University leadership has decided to pursue a Net Zero Energy (NZE) goal for
the College of Engineering’s Norm Asbjornson Innovation Center (NAIC). The NAIC will be
truly innovative and sustainable by achieving both the U.S. Green Building Council’s
Leadership in Energy & Environmental Design (LEED) + NZE goals. Simply put, a NZE
building is one with greatly reduced energy needs through design and efficiency gains that its
balance of energy needs can be supplied with renewable energy technologies (over a one-
year time period). MSU will simultaneously reduce energy and water use and costs. These
measures will also significantly reduce greenhouse gas emissions helping MSU achieve its
Climate Action Plan (CAP) goals.
The City of Bozeman has a unique opportunity to realize these same benefits with the Law &
Justice Center and Aquatics Center. The U.S. Department of Energy’s National Renewable
Energy Laboratory (NREL) has proven it is possible to achieve a large reduction in building
energy use and adopt a NZE approach for large-scale buildings with reasonable construction
costs when third-party renewable energy systems are integrated. NREL has developed
numerous resources and can provide technical assistance to the City of Bozeman.
If renewable energy systems cannot be included in the initial capital costs budget, a building
can be built “Net Zero-Ready” in order to integrate systems later in the most efficient and
cost-effective manner. The Wayne L. Morse U.S. Courthouse in Eugene, Oregon, has
achieved an Energy Use Intensity (EUI) of 30.5. This ultra-low energy use building will be
able to achieve Net Zero Energy with a smaller renewable energy system than one built to
LEED Silver. http://eere.buildinggreen.com/overview.cfm?projectid=776
The 175,000 square-foot Salt Lake City Public Safety Building, and the 42,000 square-foot
Wayne Aspinall Building and Courthouse in Grand Junction, Colorado, are slated to achieve
NZE status. See Page 48:
http://newbuildings.org/sites/default/files/2014_Getting_to_Zero_Update.pdf
Supporting a Net Zero Energy goal for all new city buildings is one of the most rigorous tools
Bozeman can implement to reduce energy use and costs over the lifetime of a building and
demonstrate its commitment achieving CAP goals. The City would also be serving as a role
model for its citizens while distinguishing itself as a 21st century city that is taking a proactive,
cutting-edge, and world-leading approach to sustainability.
Sincerely,
Susan Bilo