LEEDing the Way with Solar

Boston Properties LEEDs the way in developing and managing sustainable, high performance real estate — and renewable energy and solar is integral to that strategy. Last year, the new construction at 145 Broadway in Cambridge, Massachusetts, the global headquarters of Akamai Technologies, became the first building of its kind in New England to achieve LEED Platinum v4.1 (LEED-BD+C: Core & Shell version 4) and is the third in the country to be awarded the standard. The energy produced by Sunwealth’s solar project atop the roof of the building earned just enough points to make the difference between Platinum and Gold certification.

Solar installation crew at 145 Broadway, Cambridge MA.

The United States Green Building Council (USGBC) established the Leadership in Energy and Environmental Design (LEED) certification as a national, third-party standard to verify green buildings. For the building development and construction certification (BD+C), projects are evaluated across 8 categories that encompass a building’s construction, maintenance, and operation. An onsite solar project can contribute credits under the Energy and Atmosphere category, the number of which depends on the percentage of onsite load the solar project offsets.

Having achieved LEED Platinum certification, the building at 145 Broadway earned more than 80 credits. It is added to Boston Properties’ LEED certified portfolio of over 26 million square feet of commercial real estate, 99% of which has achieved the Gold and Platinum certification.

Talk to us to learn more about how solar with Sunwealth can contribute to LEED accreditation, meet local permitting requirements, and support customer commitments to sustainability.