Global Green News
Green Rebuilding in New Orleans
RENEWABLE ENERGY WORLD.COM. October 27, 2009. By David Bernell, Oregon State University and Think Energy Inc.
The ongoing effort to rebuild and restore the city of New Orleans has prompted a number of questions about exactly how to rebuild in the city. As it has turned out, the times are ripe for rethinking how we build and organize urban spaces and a number of people – in New Orleans and around the country – have called for an approach that offers greater attention to sustainability.
Well before we built massive power plants and invented central heating and air conditioning and long before Levittown was built, people employed a form of green building, designing and constructing buildings suitable for their environment, so that structures could be useful, comfortable and livable.
One such voice has come from Global Green USA, a non-profit environmental organization based in Los Angeles, whose focus is stemming global climate change by creating green buildings and cities. Global Green suggested that the rebuilding of New Orleans should embrace sustainability, making use of green buildings, renewable energy and livable communities that are designed on a human scale and that do not require extensive use of automobiles.
Global Green enlisted the support of city leaders, local businesses and organizations and neighborhood associations to advance this idea, while attracting interest, talent and support from around the country. Their vision became the Holy Cross Project, a zero-energy, affordable housing development in the Holy Cross neighborhood of the Lower 9th Ward. When completed, the project will include five single-family homes, an 18-unit apartment building and a community center that will also serve as a sustainable design and climate action center.
The goals of the project are to achieve net zero energy usage and be carbon neutral, consisting of green buildings that meet LEED Platinum standards, the highest standard developed by the U.S. Green Building Council. Ideally, the project will serve as an example to the rest of the city, and the country as a whole, on how to achieve sustainability in urban areas.
Designing an Intelligent City Space
Global Green partnered with actor Brad Pitt and the Home Depot Foundation (which serves as the major project funder) to make the project a reality. A parcel of land in the Lower 9th Ward was secured for the project site and Global Green sponsored an international competition during the summer of 2006 to select the best design. Pitt served as the chair of the selection jury, which chose a design from more than 125 entries that competed, including several from teams based in New Orleans. (Image courtesy Global Green USA.)
The jury first chose six finalists. Then the teams got an opportunity to work with a technical panel and meet with Holy Cross residents to refine their designs, which were presented in a final round of judging. The winning design was by Workshop/apd, a firm from New York City.
A key element of the project involved the use of renewable energy to provide power for the community. To achieve the project’s energy and emissions goals, Global Green brought the Maryland-based consultancy Think Energy onto the team. Think Energy is a firm whose sole focus is renewable energy, working with organizations such as Toyota, Raytheon and the Los Angeles Unified School District to help them make the switch to using renewable energy in their facilities.
Think Energy’s role was to conduct technical and financial feasibility analyses involving a variety of technologies and to assist with the selection and procurement of energy systems. The key question to consider with renewable energy use was this: what types of technologies would feasibly provide the greatest level of energy generation and be cost-effective?
Think Energy considered several options, which included solar photovoltaics (PV), solar hot water, solar street lights, geothermal heat pumps and river turbines. All of these options offer the potential for significant electricity generation in New Orleans. The use of river turbines seemed particularly appropriate. This technology has not been widely used to date, but it offers a potentially attractive option, allowing the abundant water resources of the Mississippi River to be used for supplying clean energy to the city.
“Global Green’s vision for New Orleans is both ambitious and creative,” said Mark Crowdis, CEO of Think Energy. “The Holy Cross project is bringing together the best practices for green building, efficient use of resources, and renewable energy. If it is feasible to use the innovative river turbines currently being developed, this project will be able to showcase the technology for all to emulate.”
