NYPA chair has some new tricks for old buildings.

Timothy Carey, president and chief executive officer of the New York Power Authority, was the guest speaker at the Greater New York Chapter of the Institute of Real Estate Management (IREM) February luncheon.

Carey focused his speech on not just building green, but also on refurbishing existing buildings to make them environmentally sound.

According to Carey, as recently as 1999, green building was considered a far-fetched idea. However, today, the trend has caught on like wildfire as more and more developers have embraced the concept as having inherent long-term financial benefits over and above the reduced impact green buildings have on the environment.

In Manhattan, the developers of some of the city's newest office and residential towers have blazed a trail in the design and construction of green buildings such as Silverstein Properties' 7 World Trade Center, Douglas Durst's Bank of America Tower and Forest City Ratner's New York Times Building.

The developers have pursued LEED (Leadership in Energy and Environmental Design) certification for their buildings from the US Green Building Council. The LEED rating system was created to transform the built environment to sustainability by providing the building industry with consistent, credible standards for what constitutes a green building.

The rating system is developed and continuously refined through an open, consensus-based process that has made LEED the green building standard of choice for Federal agencies and state and local governments nationwide. Indeed, through Local Law 86, New York City itself abides by LEED comparable guidelines for all new city construction projects over $2 million.

At last week's IREM lunch, Carey explained how it's not just new buildings that can win LEED certification.

Carey's own office in White Plains, NY, received LEED Gold-EB (Leadership in Energy and Environmental Design-Existing Building) ranking from the USGBC, attesting to its environmental sustainability and status as a green building.

It is the first existing building in New York State to achieve LEED Gold-EB and among only 19 such Gold facilities, new or existing, in the country.

The Gold designation signifies that the Clarence D. Rappleyea Building meets the rigorous LEED performance standards for five key areas: sustainable site development, energy efficiency, water savings, materials selection and indoor environmental quality.

"Going for the Gold is what we did and achieving it places the Rappleyea building among the ranks of the most energy efficient and environmentally-sound buildings in the country," said Carey during a news conference held when the certification was announced recently.

"LEED-certified buildings enhance occupants' health and productivity, help conserve the Earth's resources and reduce carbon emissions that are melting the Arctic ice cap and warming the planet. The measures we undertook to achieve the LEED recognition are centered on the belief that government should lead by example in matters of overriding importance such as the environment and energy security.

"These and other sustainability initiatives are in line with my goal of making the Power Authority the cleanest and greenest electric utility in the United States."

The USGBC developed the LEED program in 2000 to establish a nationally-accepted benchmark for new environmentally sustainable construction. In 2004, the council broadened the LEED program to existing buildings like NYPA's administrative office building, which was constructed in the early 1980s and purchased by the Authority in 1991.

"The Power Authority's administrative office building in Westchester joins an elite group of existing and new buildings receiving LEED recognition," said Rick Fedrizzi, USGBC president. "This is a superlative distinction, and the Power Authority has every reason to be proud. Each time another building successfully goes through the LEED process, it reinforces the message of the value of environmental sustainability, not to mention the potential financial gains from lower operating costs and a healthier workplace."

The Power Authority undertook wide-ranging sustainability measures in 2006 at the Rappleyea building, which is named after the former NYPA chairman and Assembly minority leader.

The improvements included: Installation of new air filters to enhance indoor environmental quality; Use of non-hazardous paints with low-volatile organic compounds, green cleaning products and recycled carpeting; Expanded recycling of paper, bottles and cans; Cutting anticipated annual water use by 130,000 gallons through such measures as installation of a landscaping control system, low-flush toilets and reduced-flow bathroom faucets; Providing designated parking in the Rappleyea building garage for employees and tenants driving in car pools or using hybrid-electric vehicles; Purchasing renewable energy credits for 30 percent of the building's energy use.

The various measures built on the Power Authority's completion of a $3.4 million energy efficiency upgrade in 2002 that cut the Rappleyea building's annual electricity use by more than 50%, or some five million kilowatt hours, compared to 1990 levels. This surpassed a 35% reduction that state-owned buildings are required to achieve by 2010 under an Executive Order issued by former Governor George Pataki in 2001 and renewed earlier this month by Governor Eliot Spitzer.

The initial upgrade by the Power Authority resulted in annual savings of $450,000 a year in electricity costs for the headquarters building, where about 60% of the space is utilized by NYPA administrative staff, including engineers, lawyers and economists, with the remaining areas leased to private enterprises. The initiatives also cut the building's annual greenhouse gas emissions by nearly 2,800 tons, along with displacing more than 7,300 barrels of oil a year.

The upgrade included the installation of two new 460-ton chillers that are about twice as efficient as their predecessors, efficient T8 lamps and electronic ballasts, automated occupancy sensors, variable frequency drives, premium efficient motors, reflective window film to help regulate building temperature and light-emitting-diode exit signs.

The Power Authority also installed two on-site power sources--a 30-kilowatt microturbine and a 5.5-kilowatt rooftop solar photovoltaic project, which further reduce the building's demand for electricity from the power grid.

"Together, these enhancements established the foundation for last year's sustainability measures for LEED EB-Gold certification," said Carey.

"Now we're looking to do more--at this building, at other Power Authority facilities and in helping our customers attain LEED certification for their buildings. We're also working to bring sustainable practices to all of our operations--not just buildings, but power plants, transmission rights-of-ways, the entire Power Authority system."

Before heading the Power Authority, Carey served as president and chief executive officer of the Hugh L. Carey Battery Park City Authority in Lower Manhattan, from May 1999 to September 2005.

He presided over the construction of the nation's first green residential high-rise building--The Solaire-which earned LEED Gold certification in 2004. Last year, the USGBC elected Carey to its 2007 Board of Directors.

The Power Authority invested about $110 million in energy efficiency and clean energy projects throughout the state in 2006, breaking a previous annual record. It also surpassed the $1 billion mark for total investment in such projects since the late 1980s.

To date, the Power Authority has undertaken energy-efficiency and clean-energy initiatives at more than 2,400 public facilities, including more than 220 in Westchester County, that have reduced annual greenhouse gas emissions by more than 750,000 tons. This is in addition to annual savings to those facilities--schools, hospitals, municipal buildings, police and fire stations and others--approaching $100 million, and annual displacement of nearly two million barrels of oil.

Carey told the IREM delegates, "A large part of our job is to protect the environment. In the 1970's the worry with energy was the money, today we have the added factors of national security, climate change, and how it will all effect our children and grandchildren."

The New York City work environment has changed dramatically as a result of green design, according to Carey. Absenteeism has been proven to decrease by 14% in green buildings, and green work places can raise work productivity 50% per year.

Encouraging the IREM delegates to investigate the possibilities for existing buildings to be more environmentally friendly, Carey added, "If you have any doubts that existing buildings can be converted to green, just come visit us at 123 Main Street in White Plains."