Green updates in progress on university parking facility

The University of Northern Iowa’s Multimodal Transportation Center recently underwent further construction this summer. Solar panels have been installed on the roof of the MMTC in an effort to make the structure more environmentally sustainable.

Eleven rows of photovoltaic panels were installed at the parking facility – over 900 individual units – which will provide the power to make the MMTC one of Iowa’s first “net-zero” buildings.

“A net-zero building is basically, the amount of energy that is going to be consumed by the building will be supplied by the building,” explained Morris Mikkelson, associate vice president of facilities planning. “So the electrical energy that’s coming on to the building will supplant all the electricity that is going to be used in the building.”

The MMTC’s setup uses a combination of the panels and a geo-thermal heating system to generate its electricity. While such a setup may not be plausible campus-wide, it is the first step toward greener building operations at UNI.

“…It’s something that people would like to strive for, getting to a point where you have virtually net-zero energy use on the building. It probably would not be practical for every kind of building, but certainly our whole idea of going LEED certified and cutting the energy consumption as much as possible is all tied into this,” Mikkelson said.

In the course of its current renovation project, Sabin Hall will also undergo changes to increase efficiency.

“Sabin Hall is being done to LEED Silver certification,” Mikkelson said. “That’s the first certified building we will have that will be certified to a level of energy-efficiency and sustainability.”

LEED certification is a voluntary process of third-party verification that a building is constructed, operated and maintained to a certain level of environmental sustainability. Both newly-constructed buildings and existing buildings are eligible for certification. A community-based LEED certification system is also being developed.

To obtain LEED certification, a new or existing building must exhibit exceptional performance in various areas relevant to sustainability. Some of these areas include water efficiency, use of materials and resources, indoor environmental quality, linkages to local transportation infrastructure and innovation and design.

More information on the LEED system can be found at the U.S. Green Building Council’s Web site, http://www.usgbc.org.