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Visit the City of San Leandro website at www.sanleandro.org <br />It’s also easier for a building that is modest in its <br />energy demands.” <br />Only a few dozen buildings in the country <br />qualify as zero net energy. Even as the <br />practice catches on, Harris said, not every <br />building will be able to meet the criteria. <br />“It’s a good rallying cry,” Harris said. “It’s more <br />tangible and salable than saying, ‘Let’s take 80 <br />percent savings out of buildings.’ A building <br />could generate energy onsite or offsite.” <br />Most zero-net-energy buildings are publicly <br />owned or financed and were built from the <br />ground up. The Zero Net Energy Center in San <br />Leandro is privately financed and uses an <br />existing structure. <br />Efficiency is key, said Victor Uno, business <br />manager for IBEW Local 595 and a member of <br />the Port of Oakland Board of Commissioners. <br />The goal is to minimize energy usage while <br />generating energy. “We designed the building to <br />consume less energy than a typical building,” he <br />said, which reduces the amount of energy the <br />building needs to produce. <br />The Zero Net Energy Center will have <br />classrooms for training, administrative offices <br />and an event space that can accommodate up <br />to 400 people. The building will be completely <br />powered by electricity, a federal requirement for <br />zero-net-energy buildings. The union hired <br />FCGA Architecture and Environmental Building <br />Strategies to design the rehabilitation. Novo <br />Construction began work on the building this <br />year. <br />“It’s easier to build from the ground up on a <br />green-field site, but that defeats the purpose to <br />use new resources versus renovating an <br />existing building,” said Drew Radachy, director <br />of science and technology for Novo. The <br />contractor stripped the building to its roof and <br />walls to install green features and systems, <br />including energy-generating turbines and solar <br />panels as well as roof monitors, which allow <br />sunlight to come into the building for natural light <br />and temperature control. The monitors channel <br />heat from outside into one room, for example, <br />and transfer it to other parts of the building to <br />regulate indoor temperature. <br />Even small elements make a difference in <br />energy usage, Benton said, such as using laptop <br />computers instead of desktop models or having <br />occupancy sensors in every room. <br />While it requires significant effort to achieve zero <br />net energy, the process is not out-of-reach, Uno <br />said. The San Leandro building is expected <br />to consume 75 percent less energy than <br />conventional construction, he said. With 40 <br />percent of the nation’s energy spent powering <br />buildings, the process creates major potential for <br />energy reduction. <br />“It was not significantly more expensive to do <br />this project than regular construction,” Radachy <br />said. Work is expected to wrap up for a grand <br />opening in the spring. The training program <br />expects to welcome students in August. <br />The program has about 180 current students <br />training for what Uno called “sustainable careers <br />with good wages, benefits and pensions.” <br />Benton noted that benefits are not just in saving <br />energy costs, but creating a healthier <br />environment for students along with setting an <br />example for their careers. <br />“We want to highlight and promote what we do,” <br />he said. “We will train people on systems used <br />in this building.” <br /> <br /> <br /> <br />