An executive order from President Barack Obama requires federal agencies to get at least 30% of their electricity from renewable sources by 2025.
To meet this mandate, agencies are considering retrofitting buildings including, in some cases, the restoration of the original interior plans and the addition of PVs. Many buildings constructed before 1940 were built with daylighting and natural ventilation.
Over the years, the interior of those historic buildings may have been divided into private offices. Agencies could restore those spaces to their original look, thereby returning daylight.
Many federal buildings’ rooftops will likely be outfitted with solar panels. Some structures will require roof replacement as part of solar projects. Some will also require electrical service upgrades.
Related Stories
| Feb 13, 2012
WHR Architects renovation of Morristown Memorial Hospital Simon Level 5 awarded LEED Gold
Located in the Simon Building, which serves as the main entrance leading into the Morristown Memorial Hospital campus, the project comprises three patient room wings connected by a centralized nursing station and elevator lobby.
| Feb 10, 2012
Task force addresses questions regarding visually graded Southern Pine lumber
Answers address transition issues, how to obtain similar load-carrying capabilities, and why only some grades and sizes are affected at this time.
| Feb 8, 2012
World’s tallest solar PV-installation
The solar array is at the elevation of 737 feet, making the building the tallest in the world with a solar PV-installation on its roof.
| Feb 6, 2012
Kirchhoff-Consigli begins Phase 2 renovations at FDR Presidential Library and Museum
EYP Architecture & Engineering is architect for the $35 million National Archives Administration project.
| Feb 6, 2012
Siemens gifts Worcester Polytechnic Institute $100,000 for fire protection lab renovation
Siemens support is earmarked for the school’s Fire Protection Engineering Lab, a facility that has been forwarding engineering and other advanced degrees, graduating fire protection engineers since 1979.
| Feb 2, 2012
Call for Entries: 2012 Building Team Awards. Deadline March 2, 2012
Winning projects will be featured in the May issue of BD+C.
| Feb 2, 2012
Mortenson Construction to build 2.4 MW solar project in North Carolina
Located on a 12 acre site in the Sandhills region, the 2.4 megawatt (MW) system is expected to generate approximately 3.5 million kilowatt hours (kWhs) of clean electricity on an annual basis.
| Feb 2, 2012
Fire rated glazing helps historic university preserve its past
When the University embarked on its first major addition since the opening of Hutchins Hall in 1933, preserving the Collegiate Gothic-style architecture was of utmost importance.
| Feb 1, 2012
Replacement windows eliminate weak link in the building envelope
Replacement or retrofit can help keep energy costs from going out the window.
| Feb 1, 2012
Two new research buildings dedicated at the University of South Carolina
The two buildings add 208,000 square feet of collaborative research space to the campus.