Human World

Empire State Building to offset 100% of energy use with windpower

New York’s Empire State Building (ESB) – which was built in 1931 and so will be 80 this year – has announced that it will soon offset its energy use by purchasing wind energy credits.

Malkin Holdings, the company that manages the ESB, will purchase enough credits to offset 100% of the landmark tower’s annual energy use.

They sealed a deal this first week of 2011 to buy 55 million kilowatt-hours per year from Green Mountain Energy. According to Inhabitat, “The energy certificates are backed by NRG Energy‘s wind power facilities in New Jersey, and will cover the ESB’s entire annual energy usage.”

As Inhabitat’s article smartly notes, the Empire State Building is not now 100% wind-powered. It’s just offsetting 100% of its energy use through the purchase of green credits.

This move is part of a “green makeover” announced for the Empire State Building in 2009. Again, according to Inhabitat:

Some of the measures included the Empire State Building’s renovation agenda include a total overhaul of the HVAC system, improvements to the building envelope, triple-glazed windows, electronic readouts to make users aware of their personal energy consumption, maximized daylighting, tenant demand ventilation control, and occupant sensor controls.

The Empire State Building is in pretty deep need of an energy retrofitting. The New York landmark was completed in 1931.

A few million other buildings on Earth could use some additional work, too. In the United States, office buildings like the Empire State Building account for a full 40% of national energy use. Let’s hope the purchase of wind energy credits by the Empire State Building becomes part of a much-needed trend.

Daniel Kammen: Energy from algae is a wildcard

Posted 
January 6, 2011
 in 
Human World

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Beth Lebwohl

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