GreenDigs Blog

South Dakota officially moved into the green arena late February with the passage of Senate Bill 188, the 28^th state to require a green building certification involving LEED. According to 188, all state-owned buildings need to attain LEED Silver, Green Globes 2 globes, or other sustainable building certification program recognized by ANSI. This includes any new construction or renovation by state agency, department, or institution and per the following:

• Cost exceeds $500,000 and 5,000 sf or more of space
• The building has hvac elements (i.e. pump houses or storage facilities would not be included)

Somewhat controversial (but included to be sure the measure passed) waivers would be granted in certain cases:

• If there are no human occupants
• If increased front end costs due to green cannot be recouped from decreased operational costs after fifteen years (rules are being written for this, but will likely include lifecycle cost analysis which we should all be doing anyway)
• If meeting LEED or Green Globes certification requirements would somehow pre-empt meeting the standards for national historic preservation for buildings on the national register
• If less than half of the building’s square footage is being renovated (phased projects need to include the total all phases)
• OR if the Bureau of Administration rules extenuating circumstances are preventing certification

Here’s the Bill – http://legis.state.sd.us/sessions/2008/Bills/SB188ENR.pdf

Some comments on the waivers.

15 Year Payback

• According to a summary of case studies done by the US Green Building Council, the average payback is 2-5 yrs.
• Our experience tells us additional costs are 1-2% for larger buildings, 2-4% for smaller buildings and of course depend on which strategies are incorporated, i.e. photo-voltaic panels may have a 30-40 yr. payback.
• Energy savings alone will likely drive the payback down below 15 yrs.
• What does it include? The obvious savings are in energy costs, water costs, and improved O&M due to commissioning (a bit harder to measure), but what about improved worker productivity, higher rental rates, improved corporate image?

National Register Buildings

• The LEED and Green Globes rating systems are quite flexible in the range of credit or point possibilities and shouldn’t pose a conflict. The biggest issue I see may be with energy requirements in that historic standards encourage maintaining original interior finishes or even windows if they can be salvaged, when building envelope R-values should be maximized for energy efficiency – something to work on with the National Park Service.

½ Building Area

• One step at a time, I realize. But this waiver may help dodge one of the biggest payback potentials – renovating building hvac systems. Energy efficient mechanical and electrical systems are where dramatic savings are seen, and often overlooked during a smaller project. In the larger scheme of things, maybe another bill for building O&M improvements will be introduced. LEED has one in pilot phase already, which can provide a great framework for O&M improvements even if a certification isn’t pursued. See http://www.usgbc.org/DisplayPage.aspx?CMSPageID=221

Bureau Of Administration Rulings

• BOA wrote the bill and I believe is serious about making this a success story within our state. The hard work begins, and It does show we have our state attitude in the right place.