Wind Energy

First Wind?s Boston Headquarters Achieves LEED Gold Status

First Wind, an independent U.S.-based wind energy company, today announced that its headquarters, located at 179 Lincoln Street in Downtown Boston, has been awarded Leadership in Energy and Environmental Design (LEED) Gold certification. The 36,000 square foot workspace utilizes energy efficient equipment, recovered materials and locally manufactured building products. First Wind’s award was realized through a collaborative effort with Gensler, Millennium Partners, Dowling Houy, WB Engineers, and Commodore Builders.

“We are proud to receive LEED Gold certification for our Boston headquarters,” said Michael Alvarez, President & Chief Financial Officer of First Wind. “First Wind has made numerous energy efficient upgrades and sustainable design choices for the office interiors to provide a healthy and productive work space for our employees.”

The green building measures include: leveraging 100 percent Energy Star certified equipment; installing 98 percent Forest Stewardship Council (FSC) certified wood products; diverting 78 percent of construction materials from landfills; and ensuring that 42 percent of construction materials were manufactured within a 500 mile radius of the project. First Wind moved into the building, developed and owned by Millennium Partners, in Downtown Boston from its suburban location in Newton, MA in October 2009. The new urban setting has multi-modal, public transportation options nearby for employees.

First Wind and Millennium Partners were honored in April 2010 with Mayor Thomas M. Menino’s Annual Green Business Award. The building’s shell holds a LEED Silver certification and is also a Historic Renovation completed pursuant to the U.S. Secretary of Interior’s Standards for Preservation. Initially constructed in 1899, the Beaux Arts-style building occupies a full city block overlooking the Rose Fitzgerald Kennedy Greenway in Boston’s historic Leather District.

Anthony Pangaro of Millennium Partners noted that, “First Wind is a perfect fit for the green re-use of this important historic building, located near the region’s biggest transit hub with access to Boston’s dynamic pool of skilled labor.”

Under Millennium’s ownership since 2006, the building has undergone a dramatic transformation and is now equipped with modern interiors, upgraded building systems, a new entrance and lobby, and below-grade parking.

First Wind is an independent wind energy company exclusively focused on the development, financing, construction, ownership and operation of utility-scale wind farm projects in the United States. Based in Boston, First Wind has wind farm projects in the Northeast, the West and in Hawaii, with the capacity to generate up to 504 megawatts of power and projects under construction with the capacity to generate up to an additional 232 megawatts.

www.firstwind.com