LEEDing by example
NTUA goes green with new Chinle facility
By Cindy Yurth
Tséyi' Bureau
CHINLE, July 23, 2011
(Special to the Times - Donovan Quintero)
Paul Deerhouse, left, project manager with the Tribal Energy Program at the U.S. Department of Energy, speaks with Navajo Tribal Utility Authority inspector Marvin Redhouse Monday in Chinle.
T he Navajo Tribal Utility Authority has for years dipped its toe into green technology, investigating alternative energy possibilities and providing a few solar/wind systems for customers not connected to the grid.
But, while it's talked a green streak, "we had nothing we could just point to," said Terry Battiest, renewable energy engineer for the tribal enterprise.
Until now. In Chinle, in fact, nobody has to point, not even with his lips. You can easily see the two 40-by-60-foot banks of solar panels, not to mention the huge new NTUA district headquarters, across the street from Basha's.
Funded by a grant from the Department of Energy and private investors through the new market tax credits program, it will allow NTUA to lead by example.
Or maybe "LEED" by example, as the 20,000-square-foot, $9.1 million building meets the gold standard for the internationally recognized Leadership in Energy and Environmental Design Criteria - the first LEED gold-certified building on the reservation.
The two tracking solar collectors, made by a German firm with offices in Denver, will produce a total of 69 kilowatts of electricity - enough to meet 30 percent of the building's power needs. The rest will be supplied by the NTUA grid, and, in case the grid is down, a natural gas emergency generator.
Additional panels on the roof heat water for the building's radiant heating system. Because of its passive solar orientation and state-of-the-art insulation, the building won't need much air conditioning. It was comfortable inside during a walk-through Monday even though the cooling system wasn't even functioning yet.
"When we talk about green technology, there's more to it than just where your power is coming from," explained NTUA's construction operations manager Daniel Wauneka. "You want to design the building so it won't need as much power."
Low-energy appliances and lighting will further reduce the office's power needs, and water will be conserved by double-flush toilets and waterless urinals.
Water captured by the roof during Chinle's rare downpours will be funneled into an irrigation system for the building's landscape. Water in the bathroom sinks will be heated with an on-demand system, not held in a tank.
Jennifer Jacoby, a consultant working with the DOE, said the grant awarded to NTUA is one of 422 energy efficiency grants awarded in Indian Country, but Paul Dearhouse, the DOE's project officer for the Tribal Energy Program, said he hasn't seen anything on the scale the Navajo Nation is developing.
In addition to the Chinle district headquarters and a sub-office at Crownpoint, the $6.1 million DOE energy conservation grant is helping to fund small solar generating plants at Fort Defiance and Shonto, Ariz., energy audits and weatherization of NTUA and tribal buildings, 65 new individual wind and solar systems for off-grid customers, training and education, said Deenise Becenti, NTUA's public affairs specialist.
The Chinle site also includes a telecommunications tower that will be part of Navajo Nation's new 4G network, currently under construction and scheduled for completion in 2013 (that's funded by a different grant).
"The irony is we're always thought of as being 20 years behind the times," Becenti said. "This will shoot us ahead of everybody."
"You'll be able to X-Box faster here than in New York City," quipped Ernest Tom, a recent Arizona State University engineering graduate who returned to the reservation to work on NTUA's new renewable energy projects.
Tom said the utility's new emphasis on green technology is certain to attract more bright young minds.
"My main interest is renewables," he said. "Until recently, you couldn't work for NTUA and hope to be involved in projects like this."
In addition to helping the planet, the new digs will be a big step up for NTUA's 70 Chinle-based employees, who currently are crammed into a 3,000-square-foot building and an adjacent singlewide trailer. The new site will provide a trailer court as well for those who need housing.
Because the interconnected HVAC system is difficult to expand once installed, the building is planned with 30 years of future growth in mind, Wauneka explained. Several extra rooms will be used for storage, meetings, training, an employee gym and a breastfeeding area for nursing moms, but could be converted to offices in the future if the need arises.
Neither is NTUA planning to hide its new solar lights under a bushel. Displays in the courtyard will explain the whole system, and people coming to pay their bills can pause to watch the building's electric meter run backwards when the sun is shining. School groups will be welcome to tour the facility.
"We see green technology as something we as a utility want to demonstrate," Battiest said. "Hopefully other government agencies, and even private companies and homeowners, will look at this and say, 'We could be doing something like that too.'"
The facility is scheduled for a grand opening Aug. 26 and will be open for business Aug. 29.