Sep 8 2010
Westinghouse Electric Company today announced that its Boiling Water Reactor (BWR) Service Center office building at its Chattanooga, Tenn., (USA), campus has achieved Leadership in Energy and Environmental Design (LEED) Silver certification from the U.S. Green Building Council (USGBC).
LEED is a third-party certification program and the nationally accepted benchmark for the design, construction and operation of high-performance green buildings. It promotes a whole-building approach to sustainability by recognizing performance in five key areas of human and environmental health: sustainable site development, water savings, energy efficiency, materials selection and indoor environmental quality
The Westinghouse U.S. BWR Service Center is a training facility for BWR Reactor Services and offers a WEC Welding Institute, as well as engineering services. Approximately 130 Nuclear Services employees and contractors are located on the campus.
Kate Jackson, Westinghouse Research and Technology senior vice president and chief technology officer, as well as its environmental and sustainability champion, said the certification is consistent with the company's commitment to provide the world with clean, safe and reliable nuclear energy.
"Nuclear energy is a clean, safe energy source that is already helping vast regions of the globe to decrease dependence on fossil fuels," she said. "We complement our position as a world leader in the supply of clean energy by including environmental considerations in the decisions we make every day. The certification of our Chattanooga facility is another demonstration of our commitment to the health and well-being of both current and future generations, and I congratulate both the team and the facility for their efforts in creating an environmentally friendly, energy-efficient, and sustainable workplace."
Michael Faidley, facilities manager for the Westinghouse Nuclear Services product line and leader of the certification effort said: "Sustainable design played a major part in our team's efforts in achieving Silver certified status."
Noteworthy features of the building's sustainable design include:
- A storm water management control system (achieved using local building materials), in which the water quality coming out of the storm water collection area is enhanced before being released back into the environment
- The addition of bike racks and changing rooms to accommodate alternate transportation to the work place
- A building design which allows 90 percent daylight views to all building occupants
Source: http://www.westinghousenuclear.com/