In the Blogs: Green Inc. The International Herald Tribune September 10, 2009 Thursday
Copyright 2009 International Herald TribuneAll Rights Reserved The International Herald Tribune
September 10, 2009 Thursday
SECTION: Pg. 19
LENGTH: 443 words
HEADLINE: In Geneva, U.S. engages in green diplomacy; In the Blogs: Green Inc.
BYLINE: James Kanter
BODY:
ABSTRACT In part to defuse the impression that America was not on board with environmental efforts, the U.S. Mission building was fitted with solar panels and an energy-saving air-conditioning system.
FULL TEXT
Until four years ago, the U.S. Mission in Geneva was another unbecoming concrete office block in the city's diplomatic district.
Now staffers can boast that the building is a showcase for green technology.
The transformation began when the exterior began to crumble early this decade.
Instead of carrying out a straightforward restoration, diplomats asked the State Department to install a solar electric system.
Douglas M. Griffiths, the deputy permanent representative at the mission and an economic officer there when the idea for the solar system arose, said the panels protected the facade from sun and water and reduced the need for cooling by shading the windows.
But Mr. Griffiths said the project also had political benefits at a time when the United States was seen by many governments as turning up its nose at global efforts to cut greenhouse gas emissions.
Festooning the building with photovoltaic panels helped counter ''a false perception that we were not in the game,'' Mr. Griffiths told me last week during a tour of the building.
The mission's latest project was replacing aging air-conditioning with a system that uses electromagnetic fields rather than a traditional motor to power an air compressor.
The chiller - the first device of its size to go into operation in Europe - has reduced the mission's overall water use and its production of chemical waste.
In addition, the device's key components operate in a frictionless and oil-free environment, enhancing energy efficiency and vastly reducing maintenance.
Mr. Griffiths said the 225-ton chiller, manufactured by Multistack, a company in Wisconsin, cost the State Department around $2.7 million and should reduce energy consumption for air-conditioning by 30 percent.
The chiller was switched on in April this year and is expected to pay for itself by 2019.
A larger device was installed at the U.S. Embassy in Tokyo in 2007.
Installation of the solar panels cost the State Department $1.6 million, and the system is expected to pay for itself by 2015.
The American companies Solar Design Associates and Hankins & Anderson were responsible for the design.
Companies including Schott Solar produced the photovoltaic panels.
The system went online in July 2005 and at peak power can generate enough electricity for 37 houses.
The mission feeds the power directly into the local grid and buys it back at a preferential rate - cutting about $70,000 from the mission's power bills each year.
LOAD-DATE: September 9, 2009
