Taking the LEED
Turner Construction in Miami built the TD Bank in Fort Lauderdale with 400 solar panels that produce at least 100,000 kilowatt-hours of electricity each year — more than the 97,000 kilowatt-hours required to operate the building. TD Bank is seeking LEED platinum certification. [Photo: TD Bank] |
The Leadership in Energy and Environmental Design (LEED) certification process is a ratings system based on seven categories — including water efficiency, energy, materials, indoor environmental quality and innovation in design. The standards were developed by the U.S. Green Building Council. Developers submit projects to a group called the Green Building Certification Institute, which administers the program through third-party groups. The level of certification a building achieves — certified, silver, gold or platinum — depends on how it scores on LEED's 100-point scale. Platinum certification, for example, requires a score of 80 or above. The average cost of certification is around $2,000.