Page 127 - Green Building Through Integrated Design

104 THE BUSINESS CASE FOR GREEN BUILDINGS

PLATINUM PROJECT PROFILE
Inland Empire Utilities Agency, Chino, California
The Inland Empire Utilities Agency headquarters in Chino, California was a two
building project with a total of 66,000 square feet. Total project cost was $7.5
million. The construction cost for the two buildings at $154 per square foot, was
far below the industry standard of $180 to $294 for comparable buildings at that
time. The agency expects to save $800,000 in energy savings annually. A roof-
mounted photovoltaic system is expected to produce more than 100,000
kilowatt-hours of electricity per year. Both buildings are heated and cooled by
heat recovered from power generators at the neighboring water-recycling plant.
Reclaimed water from the plant as well as building and stormwater harvesting
is reused for toilets and irrigation reducing potable water consumption by 73 percent
(compared to a conventional building).*

Economic Benefits

Increased economic benefits are the prime driver of change for green buildings. In
fact, relative economic advantage is the prime driver of almost all innovation.
Economic benefits of green buildings vary considerably, depending on the nature
of the building ownership, and their full consideration is vital for promoting any
sustainable design.

REDUCED OPERATING COSTS

With the real price of oil likely to stay above $80 to $100 per barrel (in today’s dollars)
†
for the forseeable future, natural gas prices at near-record levels, and peak-period
(typically summer air-conditioning times) electricity prices rising steadily in many
metropolitan areas, energy-efficient buildings make good business sense. Even in
commercial “triple-net” leases (the most common type) in which the tenant pays all
operating costs, landlords want to offer tenants the most economical space for their
money (not doing so amounts to a hidden tax on the renter). For small added invest-
ments in capital cost, green buildings offer lower operating costs for years to come.
Many green buildings are designed to use 30 to 50 percent less energy than current
codes require; some buildings achieve even higher efficiency levels. Translated to an
operating cost of $3.00 per square foot for electricity (the most common source of
energy for office and commercial buildings), this level of savings could reduce utility

*U.S. Green Building Council [online], http://leedcasestudies.usgbc.org/overview.cfm?ProjectID=278, accessed
April 2008.
† U.S. Energy Information Administration [online]. For the November 2006 forecast, see www.eia.doe.gov/oiaf/
aeo/key.html, accessed March 6, 2007.