Jeff Young visits a super energy-efficient, solar powered house in Maine [BrightBuilt Barn designed by Kaplan Thompson Architects and Bensonwood Homes]. Its owner [Dr. Keith Collins] uses technology he calls “state of the shelf,” rather than state of the art. The goal is a green house that’s as economically affordable as it is environmentally sustainable. (Living on Earth, week of October 23, 2009)

Click here to listen to the Living On Earth story.

ABC News broadcast an interview on Ahead of the Curve last Friday evening with Rick Fedrizzi, President of the U.S. Green Building Council. He spoke about the LEED rating system and Hannaford’s new LEED Platinum grocery store.

Click here to watch the ABC video. (Interview will air after the advertisement…..)

Naomi Mermin, board chairperson for the Maine Chapter of the U.S. Green Building Council, is featured in Maine Voices of the Portland Press Herald talking about the how the success of Hannaford’s LEED Platinum store ties to green jobs in the building industry in Maine.

The Hannaford project is a real-world example of the concept of “green jobs.” It takes a team approach to make a high performance green building – especially when targeting the Platinum level of certification – and Hannaford was able to rely on a number of other Maine-based companies to plan and build the new supermarket. (August 17, Portland Press Herald)

Click here to read the entire article.

Learn more about the Maine USGBC.

Hannaford Awarded LEED Platinum Certification by USGBC
Rick Fedrizzi, President, CEO & Founding Chairman of the U.S. Green Building Council based in Washington DC, was on hand yesterday at the new Hannaford supermarket in Augusta, Maine to award a LEED Platinum rating under the USGBC’s green building certification system. This is the first grocery store to achieve a LEED Platinum Certification. Hannaford CEO Ron Hodge accepted the award. Maine Governor John Baldacci was also present.

Fore Solutions was the green building and LEED consultant for Hannaford. Rick Fedrizzi congratulated Gunnar Hubbard, Principal of Fore Solutions, on his committment to Green Building. They first met 16 years ago at the Greening of the White House. Gunnar Hubbard was instrumental in the forming of the U.S. Green Building Council, and since then has opened his own green building consulting firm based in Portland, Maine, pursuing work locally, nationally and internationally.

Tours of the new store highlighting the environmental features were given to the media and invited guests. The store will be open for business to the public on Saturday, July 25, 2009.

Fore Solutions was the LEED Consultant. Learn more about the green building process and the new store by following the links below.

NECN.com Video and News Article 7.24.09

Portland Press Herald News Article 7.24.09

WCSH6 News Video 7.23.09

Portland Press Herald News Article 7.23.09

Take Tour of the Hannaford Store

Fore Solutions Project Page

New Hannaford Store Striving For LEED Platinum
A new Hannaford supermarket opening this week in Augusta, Maine is part of the USGBC LEED for Retail Pilot program. The USGBC and approximately 80 pilot teams are collaborating to develop a rating system that recognizes the unique circumstances specific to retailers. LEED for Retail is currently under ballot, part of the USGBC’s consensus-based development process, and will be available to all LEED projects later this year as part of the LEED 2009 suite.

Striving for the highest of LEED ratings, LEED Platinum, the store will use approximately 50% less energy than a conventional grocery store. The new 49,000 square foot store has two geothermal wells to regulate the interior temperature; a 41 kilowatt solar array on the roof to supply power; a 7,000 square foot green roof to manage stormwater, provide insulation, and reclaim vegetated space; and windows, clerestories, and over 50 skylights and solar tubes to eliminate the need for much of the electric lighting during daylight hours.

The green building design process began just over two years ago with a one and one-half day integrated design charrette in Scarborough, Maine led by Fore Solutions, the green building consultant and LEED project manager. The entire team was present, as well as outside consultants such as a construction estimator, mechanical consultants and design experts, so that the best design could be realized for Hannaford early in the design and building process where full integration is critical to create a store striving for such high environmental standards.

Learn more about the store by following the links below and stay tuned for information on the store opening this week!

Fore Solutions Project Page

Information on the LEED for Retail Pilot Program

Contract Magazine 7.21.09

Village Soup 7.16.09

Environmental Leader 7.15.09

Progressive Grocer 7.14.09

Tree Hugger 7.13.09