Solar Power and Resilient Design for Schools and Shelters

Environmental and Energy Study Institute (EESI)

Please RSVP to expedite check-in A live webcast will be streamed at 2:00 PM EDT at www.eesi.org/livecast (wireless connection permitting) The Environmental and Energy Study Institute (EESI) invites you to a briefing about a “solar secure” recreation center in Brooklyn and a “high performance” school in Kentucky that are benefiting their communities as well as those who use the buildings. This briefing will show how sustainable public buildings can collectively reduce emissions and clear the air, especially in disadvantaged communities where energy utilities are often sited. Case studies will feature buildings—both in urban and in rural areas—that are improving public health and driving economic growth, while protecting and serving their communities and neighborhoods even during emergencies. This briefing will feature a retrofit project in the Red Hook neighborhood of Brooklyn in New York City and a net-zero energy high school in rural Kentucky, as well as projects incorporating sustainability principles in Prince George's County, Maryland. After being devastated by Hurricane Sandy and left without power for days, the historic Red Hook Recreation Center was transformed into a community space and safe refuge with the installation of a solar power and battery system. For vocational students near Lexington, Kentucky, the Locust Trace AgriScience Center embodies the principles of sustainability. With daylit classrooms and low-impact land development, the buildings and campus provide hands-on learning of new skills for today’s jobs with minimal energy/water use and low carbon emissions. The Redevelopment Authority (RDA) of Prince George's County, MD, is developing mixed-income/mixed-use projects and affordable housing in urban communities near transit centers using sustainability principles that promote walkability, green design, and energy and water efficiency.