Sustainable building features at a glance

Great River Energy's new headquarters is one of the most energy-efficient buildings in Minnesota. If it receives the LEED platinum rating, it will be one of only a small number of such buildings in the world.

Some of the features that are helping to set the new standard for building design and construction include:

• A low-energy HVAC system design with under-floor displacement ventilation and a geothermal heating and cooling system that uses the adjacent Arbor Lake
  
  

• An on-site 200-kW wind turbine, visible to drivers on Interstate 94
  
  

• Photovoltaic cells are mounted on the building roof. Solar energy also pre-heats hot water.
  
  

• Dimming ballasts, daylight sensors, motion sensors and daylight-harvesting help reduce artificial lighting needs. Reduced lighting requirements generate less heat from the lighting, reducing the need for air conditioning. Artificial lighting is high-efficiency fluorescent lighting.
  
  

• A longer east- and west-running building orientation maximizes daylight- harvesting. Fewer windows on the east and west walls reduce solar heat gain.
  
  

• The facility's concrete structural frame contains nearly 50 percent fly ash from the Great River Energy Coal Creek Station. Fly ash was also used in carpet backing.
  
  

• Energy-efficient elevators use 60 percent less energy and require less space.
  
  

• Sustainable landscape features rain gardens and native plantings and vegetation.
  
  

• Rainwater will be used for on-site irrigation and flushing toilets.
  
  

• Local construction materials were used when possible, including Mankato limestone and Lake Superior granite.

Compared to similarly-sized traditional office buildings, Great River's new headquarters:

• Consumes 50 percent less energy than Minnesota code requires
  

• Uses 40 percent less electricity for lighting than standard lighting
  

• Uses 90 percent less water than comparable corporate campuses
  

• Diverted 75 percent of construction waste from landfills
  

• Produces renewable energy to supply up to 15 percent of the building's energy
  

• Uses recycled and locally manufactured materials
  

• Will save nearly $90,000 in annual energy costs.

Related articles

Energy Services Bulletin, July 2008
Great River's new headquarters 'LEEDs' by example

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