Nation’s Largest Net Zero Plus Commercial Building Opens in LA
The center, featuring advanced and emerging clean energy technologies, showcases the future of smart energy efficiency design.
By Keith Loria, Contributing Editor
Los Angeles—The Net Zero Plus Electric Training Institute, a 144,000-square-foot demonstration center and living laboratory, opened in Los Angeles, becoming the nation’s largest net zero plus commercial building retrofit.
The NZP ETI is the result of a partnership between the International Brotherhood of Electrical Workers (IBEW) Local 11 and National Electric Contractors LA (LA/NECA) that began with the primary goal to provide world-leading advanced training for apprentices, journeymen and electric contractors.
“The state of California has coming regulations that require all new commercial buildings be built to zero net energy standards by 2030,” Jim Willson, LA/NECA’s executive director, told Commercial Property Executive. “We are also seeing increased demand from consumers for greater control of energy costs. The NZP ETI is a national center of innovation in integrated energy efficiency design with advanced technologies that provides roadmap for the building industry to meet and achieve these market factors.”
The Net Zero Plus Electrical Training Institute will generate more energy than it consumes each year. This excess energy, generated by an onsite photo-voltaic solar array, can be stored in the center’s battery storage system or be discharged back into the electric grid system.
The center, featuring advanced and emerging clean energy technologies, showcases the future of smart energy efficiency design, micro-grid system integration, energy storage solutions, building resiliency in the wake of natural disasters or grid interruptions, and a suite of integrated electrical technologies and controls.
“The project team, led by IBEW Local 11 and LA/NECA, was able to transform a 1960’s-built industrial warehouse into a demonstration of the future of net zero energy commercial buildings that reduce energy consumption and environmental impacts, demonstrate energy independence, improve disaster response solutions, and contribute to a more reliable electrical grid,” Dick Reed, president of IBEW Local 11, told Commercial Property Executive.
Collectively, IBEW Local 11 and LA/NECA represent more than 13,000 electricians and several hundred contractors in Los Angeles. Additionally, the State of California is leading the way in the United States in renewable energy and sustainable building development and management.
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