Her Excellency Meera Shankar, the Ambassador of India to the United States, awarded the LEED rating citation to Suzlon at a ceremony in Washington, D.C., jointly organized by the Confederation of Indian Industry (CII) and the US India Business Council (USIBC).
The LEED standards – a green environment rating system complying with the standards of the U.S. Green Building Council (USGBC) – specify stringent norms to be met for the greenest, most energy-efficient and high-performance buildings. Started in the U.S., LEED certification continues to gain international traction. CII has been at the front of promoting LEED standards in India, having established the Indian Green Building Council (IGBC) in 2001, in partnership with the Government of Andhra Pradesh, Godrej Foundation & USAID, with technical cooperation with the United States Green Building Council (USGBC).
Suzlon’s ‘One Earth’ campus is among the first 100 sites in India to receive LEED certification. Developed on an area of 41,000 square meters (10.13 acres) with a capacity to house 2,300 people, One Earth ranks among the largest green building projects in India.
The facility sets new benchmarks in energy efficiency in all aspects of engineering and construction. This whole-building approach to sustainability helped secure the highest LEED rating by focusing on key areas such as human and environmental health; sustainable site development; efficient water; energy and waste methods, materials and resource selection; and indoor environmental quality and innovation.
This approach has also made it possible to construct the facility at a lower cost compared to other facilities of comparable size, ultimately leading to a lower lifecycle cost and smaller environmental footprint in the long term.
Specific features of Suzlon ‘One Earth’ include:
• Low-energy materials – More than 70 percent of materials used in the interiors have a reduced carbon footprint. They ensure higher recycled content, have lower embodied energy and are rapidly renewable.
• Renewable energy-based exterior lighting – LED street lighting is powered entirely by renewable energy-based systems located on the site thus reducing approximately 25 percent of the total lighting load. Ninety percent of regularly occupied spaces have daylight exposure, thereby saving on artificial lighting.
• Daylight & occupancy sensors – Daylight sensors are used in the workstation area for maximum use of artificial lighting. Occupancy sensors control task lighting in unoccupied workstations ensuring savings of about 20 percent of energy costs.
• Efficient ventilation system – Jet fans installed in the basements intermittently push out stale air & bring in fresh air, saving 50 percent energy as compared to ducted basement ventilation system.
• Storm & rainwater management system – Channels all rain received into a controlled flow, preventing soil erosion and facilitating removal of silt.
Speaking about the award, Mr. Tulsi Tanti, Chairman of Suzlon Group, said, “This award underlines Suzlon’s commitment to sustainability. I believe that ‘One Earth’ – named as a tribute to Earth’s unique existence as a self-replenishing eco-system – will be inspiration and proof to others that it is possible, if we are really determined, to create a sustainable world for our future.”
Commenting on the green building movement in India, Ms. Meera Shankar, Ambassador of India to the United States, remarked, “The issue of climate change poses a serious challenge for India. While meeting this challenge in ways consistent with our national development goals, we also see this as an opportunity to leapfrog in adoption of low carbon intensive technologies and building national competitiveness through resource efficiency.
The Green Building Movement, led by industry and the Energy Conservation Building Codes, initiated by the Government of India, are enabling 20-30% reduction in energy consumption in the building sector. India’s commitment and actions speak for themselves.”
Suzlon and REpower, if taken together, stand as the world’s third leading wind power supplier group in terms of market share. Market share of 9.8 per cent is derived from BTM Consult ApS World Market Update 2009, ranking Suzlon with 6.4 per cent of wind energy global market share and REpower with 3.4 per cent of global market share.
Suzlon One Earth was conceived, managed and executed by Synefra Engineering & Construction Ltd., a Tanti Group company. With more than a decade of execution expertise, the company is a leader in providing sustainability-focused Innovative Integrated Infrastructure Solutions to different industrial business segments
Suzlon ranked as the world’s third leading wind turbines supplier in terms of market share in 2009. Suzlon has its corporate offices in Pune, India and company’s global spread reflects in its projects and markets portfolio – extending across Asia, Australia, Europe and North and South America. Suzlon is a highly vertically integrated wind turbine manufacturer with manufacturing capability along the full value chain – from components to complete wind turbine systems.
Suzlon Wind Energy Corporation focuses on the North American market and is a subsidiary of Suzlon Energy Limited of Pune, India, the third largest global wind turbine supplier. The headquarters for North America is based in Chicago, Illinois, with sales and service offices located across the U.S. Suzlon Wind Energy Corporation, when combined with REpower, is ranked fourth in U.S. market share for 2009, according to the American Wind Energy Association (AWEA). Together, our sites include more than 700 wind turbines installed in the U.S. and totaling 1,450 megawatts (MW) of capacity across 20 states. Suzlon also manufactures wind turbine blades for its S88-2.1 MW machine in Pipestone, Minnesota.
