Green Works Orlando Green Updates

May 2009

May 29

Reliable Plaza Receives Official LEED Certification

OUC - The Reliable One - unveiled Reliable Plaza, the utility's new green downtown customer service and administration center on Tuesday, November 11, 2008. This week, the U.S. Green Building Council officially announced that Reliable Plaza has achieved Gold LEED certification.

Reliable Plaza is one of the most energy and water efficient buildings in Central Florida using 28 percent less energy and 40 percent less water than a similar sized structure built to standard code. These energy and water saving features make this the first commercial building in Central Florida designed and built to Gold LEED certification.

May 1

City of Orlando Receives LEED Platinum Designation on Affordable Home - First in State

Last week, the City received word from the U.S. Green Building Council that the affordable home built at 1025 W. Anderson Street was certified as LEED Platinum. LEED for Homes is a national third-party certification system for energy efficient, healthy, green homes. This residence is the first LEED-Certified Platinum affordable home in the state of Florida. Some of the features that resulted in this certification include energy star appliances, compact fluorescent lights (CFL), ultra low flow toilets and faucets, landscaping and double insulated windows.

Green homes have substantially lower utility bills and may qualify for advantageous financing, lower insurance rates and government incentives. Through our commitment to green homebuilding, the City of Orlando is helping to keep homeownership affordable. For more information on green affordable homes, contact the City's Housing and Community Development Department at 407.246.2708.

City Council Receives Update on Green Works Orlando

On Monday, April 27, the Orlando City Council was presented with a workshop that provided an overview and update of Green Works Orlando.

The following is a snapshot of the Green Works Orlando program's achievements:

Every stoplight and pedestrian signal in the City has been converted from incandescent bulbs to Light Emitting Diode (LED) technology. As a result, greenhouse gas emissions have been reduced by approximately 526,843 pounds of CO2. This is the equivalent of removing 44 cars from the highway or the energy use of 22 homes for one year and adds more than $25,000 in monthly savings for the City.

The lighting at the Central Boulevard garage was replaced with more energy efficient fixtures. The new lighting caused an annual reduction of more than 580,000 pounds of CO2 or the amount of electricity used by 37 homes in a year.

Five Orlando Fire Stations are LEED-Certified and boast 40 percent water and 18 percent energy savings. Fire Station One will be completed this fall and is anticipated to be LEED-Certified Silver.

Thirty-four percent of the City's vehicles have been transitioned to bio-diesel, flex-fuel and hybrid. As a result, green house gas emissions have been reduced by approximately 3,448,000 pounds of CO2 or the equivalent of the electricity for 216 homes for one year.

Green Works Business, an educational program designed to provide the Orlando business community with comprehensive best practices in sustainability, was established.

The U.S. Department of Energy selected 13 Solar America Cities in June 2007 and an additional 12 cities in March 2008 to help lay the foundation for a solar energy market that can serve as a model for cities around the nation. Orlando was the only city in Florida and the Southeast to receive this designation.

A single stream recycling program was created in Orlando City Hall. More than one ton of recyclable material is collected each week.