Jun 25 2015
The International Brotherhood of Electrical Workers Local 11 and the Los Angeles Chapter of the National Electrical Contractors Association announced today that construction has begun on the nation’s largest Net Zero Plus™ commercial building retrofit at their Electrical Training Institute in Los Angeles County.
Upon completion, the newly-retrofitted 142,000 square foot Net Zero Plus Electrical Training Institute, is designed to be an “intelligent building of the future” and generate more energy on annual basis than it uses. The building will demonstrate the future of smart energy efficiency, microgrid system integration, energy storage solutions, and advanced lighting controls and automated building management systems. The project is being built with American-made products and by American Union tradesmen.
From an existing annual energy consumption of one megawatt, the building will use no energy from the electric grid. Overall, energy usage has been reduced by 250,000 kWh/yr, and the building has the capacity to produce approximately one megawatt of energy annually. It will reduce lighting usage by 46%, heating and cooling by 60%. It will achieve a reduction of 28.9 tons in CO2 emissions annually.
Over 4,000 apprentices and journeymen electricians are trained each year for new jobs in all facets of the electric industry. “Our operational microgrid, battery storage system and integrated energy technologies will provide hands-on training that is unprecedented at any other electrical training center,” said Marvin Kropke, Business Manager of IBEW Local 11. “The NZP ETI will set the standard for training as a replicable model for other electrical training centers around the country.”
“The energy industry is changing so rapidly that yesterday’s electricians must become tomorrow’s Total Energy Solutions Providers in order to meet the new demands of the industry. IBEW Local 11 and LA/NECA are pioneering the NZP ETI to provide transformational training for the future electrical work force,” said James Willson, Executive Director of LA/NECA.
The NZP ETI will be a training, demonstration and testing center to help bring new energy technologies to market. “The Center for Sustainable Energy is excited to work with IBEW Local 11 and LA/NECA to test innovative technologies in a real-world setting provided by the NZP ETI while bringing new skills to the workforce,” said CSE Executive Director Len Hering, RADM, USN (ret). “Achieving California’s ZNE goals will require significant installation of advanced energy technologies, creating a huge opportunity for jobs and economic development. IBEW Local 11 and LA/NECA are ideal partners in stimulating the clean energy economy of the future.”
“Los Angeles Department of Water & Power (LADWP) operates the largest public power portfolio of energy efficiency programs in the nation, comprised of a broad array of energy resource acquisition and market transformation programs serving LADWP’s customers and trade ally networks. We are very keen on working with the NZP ETI to develop, test, and implement strategies that will help lead to the comprehensive adoption of energy efficient technologies by LADWP’s customers,” said David Jacot, P.E., Director of Energy Efficiency for LADWP.