Oct 31 2007
Governor Jon S. Corzine and BPU President Jeanne M. Fox today recognized Ferriera Construction as the recipient of the 2007 New Jersey Clean Energy Leadership Award for Market Innovator for creating the nation's first Net Zero Electric Energy commercial building, a ground breaking facility design that saves energy and helps reduce greenhouse gases.
Ferreira Construction's achievement is the result of a public/private partnership to set a new standard and raise the bar for high performance and sustainable buildings in New Jersey and across the nation. With incentives provided through the New Jersey Board of Public Utilities and New Jersey's Clean Energy Program, Ferriera Construction was able to attain the goal of creating a building that provides all of the electric energy needs through a combination of solar photovoltaics and energy efficiency measures for its 42,000 square foot commercial building headquarters. The building actually generates all of its own electric needs and any extra "green" energy is pushed out into the grid and thus made available for other companies.
"Today is truly historic because this facility is the nation's first commercial building that produces at least as much energy as it uses in a year," said Governor Corzine. "The building heralds the future for energy efficient projects and represents a significant step in the battle against global warming.
"Yesterday, I was in Portugal to meet with several world leaders about climate change policies. We made progress discussing the environmental and economic promise of investing in cleaner facilities and we are committed to the reduction of greenhouse gas emissions. Ferriera Construction is actually making that promise a reality and is a trailblazer for providing an energy efficiency blueprint for New Jersey."
The third annual New Jersey Clean Energy Leadership Awards highlights New Jersey's clean energy goals and strategies to reduce greenhouse gases, increase the use of renewable energy and increase energy efficiency.
Through its Clean Energy Program, which provides more than $180 million dollars each year to businesses, residents and municipalities, New Jersey has emerged as a national leader and one of the fastest growing clean energy markets in the country.
"Ferreira Construction is proof that clean energy is smart business and smart for New Jersey," said Jeanne M. Fox, President of the Board of Public Utilities." As the 2007 Clean Energy Leader for Market Innovator of the Year, they have created a model for other businesses to duplicate in order to reach Governor Corzine's ambitious vision to use energy more wisely in New Jersey. I applaud Ferreira Construction for its insight and vision as a clean energy leader."
Ferriera Construction is the first building in NJ to not only meet but to exceed Governor Corzine's Executive Order 54 for the reduction of Green House Gases, as well as to exceed the Governor's energy efficiency goal of 20 percent by 2020 by reducing their energy consumption by 80 percent. In doing so, Ferreira has reduced their CO2 by 1 million pounds per year, well beyond 1990 standards. By accomplishing this goal in a commercially viable manner, they have proven that it is not a financial burden to businesses to go green.
"Achieving the goal of becoming the first Net Zero Electric Commercial building, one that creates more energy than it consumes, is a major milestone in eliminating our country's dependence on fossil fuels and significantly reducing the production of greenhouse gases," said Nelson Ferriera, Owner of Ferreira Construction. "This accomplishment exemplifies a core belief of Ferreira Construction that businesses must take a leadership role in being responsible citizens and in giving back to the community. We hope our efforts show other New Jersey businesses that they too can participate in New Jersey's pioneering efforts."
The Ferreira Net Zero Project with Live Data Systems was developed as the first multi-use new commercial office building in the entire country to be "NET ZERO ELECTRIC." The 40,000 sq ft commercial building generates its own electricity from a rooftop grid-tied 223 kW DC photovoltaic system that is continuously monitored by software developed by Live Data Systems. The Live Data Systems software tool provides real time information on performance and energy use which allows for continuous improvement in efficiency and operation. The monitoring by this software enabled Ferreira to obtain Net Zero Electricity use and helped the company avoid over 1 million lbs. per year in CO2 emissions. Besides the photovoltaic system the building has a combination of energy efficiency features like solar DHW system, radiant floor heating systems, a 96% efficiency boiler and extensive building controls and monitoring.