The new Great River Energy (GRE) headquarters in Maple Grove was completed this spring. GRE, East Central Energy's (ECE) wholesale power supplier, will hold a dedication event on Earth Day, April 22, to celebrate what is projected to be a LEED-Platinum-certified building.

LEED (Leadership in Energy and Environmental Design) certification is a standard developed by the U.S. Green Buildings Council (www.USGBC.org) to provide benchmarks for energy efficient and sustainable buildings. Platinum is the highest certification the group awards.

Some of the interesting facts about the building include:

• The building is one of the most energy efficient structures in the country and uses 40 to 50 percent less electricity than buildings that use standard technologies in construction.
• More than 40 percent of the cement in this building's concrete was replaced with fly ash, a recycled by-product from GRE's Coal Creek Station.
• The building uses adjacent Arbor Lake for its geothermal heating and cooling system's source. Combined with under-floor air displacement, it is a super-energy efficient system.
• Lighting, as well as the cooling energy that lighting requires, can take up as much as 30 percent of the energy demand in a typical office building in the summer. The building uses 40 percent less electricity for lighting than buildings that use standard construction techniques.
• The building's lighting comes mainly from daylighting, using daylight atriums and windows to provide most of the light for the building. Harvesting daylight saves energy and provides a healthier, more productive workspace.
• Daylighting is partially accomplished by the building's orientation. The building is long and narrow, with windows mostly on the north and south sides and limited glass on the east and west. This lessens glare from the light and unwanted heat build-up caused by the low-angle morning and evening sun.
• The on-site 200 kW wind turbine and 72 kW solar panel array will provide up to 15 percent of the building's electricity.
• Rainwater and snowmelt are captured and used for flushing toilets and irrigating the landscaping. The building will use 90 percent less water than similar building campuses, saving more than 1.6 million gallons per year.
• More than 90 percent of the construction waste was recycled, increasing the sustainability of the building by preventing thousands of pounds of waste from being sent to landfills.

"Energy efficiency and conservation are going to be key drivers of electric cooperative strategies, both because of recent and predicted legislation, as well as just being good business sense," said Gary Connett, Great River Energy director of environmental stewardship and member services. "The more energy we can save, the less new generation and associated transmission lines we have to build."

"One question that periodically comes up about our building is cost," said Connett. "Much of the funds for the building were raised through the sales of sulfur dioxide (SO2) credits from our North Dakota power plants. The project was also finished on time and within the budget."

Connett adds that additional costs for the building's energy efficient technologies will be paid back in less than seven years, and the company will continue to reap the benefits through lower electric costs for the building.

The new building will serve as an educational tool on how to implement energy efficiency technologies in new and existing buildings. The building will host schools, builders, architects and, of course, electric cooperative members throughout the state and region.

"We look forward to having our members and the general public tour the building and learn how they can improve efficiency in their own homes and businesses," said Connett.