NEW YORK, NY — (Marketwire) — 09/22/11 — Con Edison–s newly-minted 100th substation in Queens is the utility–s greenest.
The company–s Newtown substation has earned a Leadership in Energy and Environmental Design (LEED) certification from the U.S. Green Building Council, as well as a design award from the Queens Chamber of Commerce.
LEED certification verifies the Long Island City substation is designed and built in an energy-saving way, reducing CO2 emissions, and producing improved water efficiency, indoor environmental quality, and resource usage.
The U.S. Green Building Council–s LEED certification provides building owners and operators with a framework to identify and implement practical green building design, construction, operations and maintenance.
Some of the substation–s green features include recycled construction materials and a reflective “cool” roof designed to keep the interior cooler in summer. High-efficiency water fixtures and Energy Star-rated appliances also add to the savings.
“The exterior design blends into the neighborhood, and makes it look like several different buildings rather than one large building,” said Con Edison architect Bill Ziminski. “The colors complement the surroundings, and the corner building has a pediment and windows that remind you of a bank. The facades adjoining it are separate and distinct, reflecting the fabric of the area around it.”
The new substation began delivering electricity to over 36,000 customers in 2010 via two new networks, one 75 megawatts and the other 120 megawatts, in the Long Island City area. The interconnected system of localized networks increases reliability by reducing the need to run long lengths of distribution feeder cables.
The substation also has a foundation to accommodate a second floor for handling a 50 percent increase in distribution feeders to meet our customers– growing electrical use.
Con Edison is a subsidiary of Consolidated Edison, Inc. (NYSE: ED), one of the nation–s largest investor-owned energy companies, with approximately $13 billion in annual revenues and $36 billion in assets. The utility provides electric, gas and steam service to more than 3 million customers in New York City and Westchester County, New York.
Consolidated Edison, Inc. is a Dow Jones Sustainability Index (DJSI) company. The global Carbon Disclosure Project (CDP) has ranked Consolidated Edison, Inc. #1 among all S&P 500 companies in its 2010 Carbon Disclosure Leadership Index, as well as # 1 among utilities in the CDP–s new Carbon Performance Leadership Index. Consolidated Edison, Inc. also has been recognized for its environmental performance by the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency, the U.S. Department of Energy and other organizations.
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