Brinjac Engineer Kyle Flanagan, EIT, LEED® performed the lifecycle cost/benefit analysis and installation cost estimate of a 65-kilowatt equivalent (kWe) microturbine that will work in conjunction with a 26 kWe solar photovoltaic array integrated into the Science Center's roof to generate electricity and heat for the $36.4 million building. The electrical output from the turbine will supplement the general electric service and lower the peak demand. Flanagan also incorporated the turbine into the heating system to allow heat from the turbine to be recovered and used in the building.

The grant, provided by National Fuel and Gas Distribution and valued at $163,996, will help Clarion establish The National Fuel Energy Laboratory, an advanced energy laboratory in the Science and Technology Center; the final funding amount was based upon Brinjac's cost/benefit analysis. The laboratory will not only instruct Clarion students about state-of-the-art energy technologies, but it will also produce prodigious amounts of electrical power and heat for the Science and Technology Center.

According to Dr. Joshua Pearce, Ph.D., a physics professor at Clarion and the principal investigator of the grant, Clarion stands to save significant money and fuel with the microturbine, while improving the building's environmental performance. An added bonus: It's environmentally friendly. The microturbine has the lowest emissions of any non-catalyzed fossil fuel combustion from burning clean natural gas.

"Both the environmental and economic arguments in favor of such green design are overwhelming and it is clear we will continue to see the entire building sector move in this direction", says Pearce.

"This solution is a key component in our building design and our plan to achieve LEED (Leadership in Energy and Environmental Design) certification from the U.S. Green Building Council. At its core, Brinjac's green engineering is high-quality systems level engineering. It was inspiring to see Brinjac engineers integrate both renewable energy and combined heat and power into the already extremely efficient high-performance design of the Science and Technology Center."

Besides the microturbine energy generator, Brinjac is helping Clarion achieve LEED through energy efficient lighting and HVAC design, sensible landscaping and the use of innovative water technologies such as a rainwater collection system to be utilized for the non-potable lab water and waterless urinals.

Pearce is optimistic that green building trends will continue to flourish in higher education systems as well as a myriad of other industries.

He adds, "It is up to great engineering firms like Brinjac to help lead society into a major paradigm shift -- away from archaic, large-scale, polluting centralized fossil fuel plants to a more nimble high-tech distributed network of high-performance, renewable energy producing buildings."