Green Construction
CSU's new Academic Village student housing incorporates LEED standards.
CSU President Larry Penley has mandated that all new CSU construction be built to nationally accepted LEED Gold standards. The Leadership in Energy and Environmental Design (LEED) Green Building Rating System is the nationally accepted benchmark for the design, construction, and operation of high-performance green buildings.
Academic Village
CSU designed the new Academic Village residence hall complex as an environmentally responsible facility. It features low-flow water fixtures to conserve water use and is landscaped with low-water, native plants. The two-story Dining Commons will feature a pulper that takes food waste and, using water, chops up and compacts the waste and then recirculates the water for conservation.
Future Academic Instruction Building
This new building will be designed and constructed to meet LEED Gold standards. Features being considered in the early design phase include a garden atrium, water efficient landscape, use of renewable energy systems and local materials.
LEED Gold Transit Center
The Transit Center was awarded LEED Gold certification. When completed, the Lory Transit Center featured low-flow water fixtures, indoor air-quality management, and recycling of more than 85% construction waste.
Green Renovations:
- Heating Plant Steam Turbine
- Microbiology Building Study Lounge
- South College Gym and Fieldhouse Lights
- Veterinary Teaching Hospital Retrofit
- Yates Hall Energy Reduction
Wind Farm
The CSU Green Power Project, a wind farm in Northern Colorado that ultimately will generate more power than the University consumes, was launched in 2007 and will be completed within eight years. It also will serve as a unique outdoor laboratory for researchers across campus in areas ranging from clean energy technology development to a variety of related environmental impact studies. The cost to buy 100% wind power at today's prices would be $3 million more than CSU’s current energy bill of $12 million and would reduce the University’s carbon footprint by 21,000 tons, or two-thirds of its total carbon footprint.
