17 November 2011

Amonix earns LEED Gold Certification for two facilities

Amonix Inc, which makes utility-scale concentrated photovoltaic (CPV) systems using III-V multi-junction solar cells, says that its facilities in California and Nevada have won gold-level certification for their low environmental impact construction, and high energy and water efficiency from the US Green Building Council’s Leadership in Energy and Environmental Design (LEED) program.

With the direction of sustainability and energy advisers Collaborative Project Consulting, Amonix’ headquarters in Seal Beach, CA and its production facility in North Las Vegas, NV both earned the internationally recognized Gold Certification in 2011, adding a total of almost 300,000 square feet to the world’s inventory of buildings that consume the minimum energy and water. LEED certification grades buildings on a broad range of energy efficiency and CO2 reduction factors. Buildings are rated in 13 environmental impact categories, including climate change, indoor environmental quality, resource depletion and water intake.

Amonix makes its MegaModule CPV systems at its 214,000 square foot North Las Vegas facility, which encompasses office and production space. As part of the LEED certification, eight of the CPV systems will supply 100% of the facility’s energy needs, or about 2500 megawatt hours (MWhr) per year. The facility will produce CPV systems that will generate 375,000MWhr per year (9 million MWhr over their effective lifetime), i.e. several thousand times as much energy in its lifetime as the manufacturing plant itself consumes.

Additionally, North Las Vegas’ lighting arrays exceed LEED requirements by 15-20%. High-performance plumbing fixtures at both facilities decrease water usage by 41% compared to conventional buildings, and more than 70% of Amonix’ equipment and appliances are ENERGY STAR certified.

Amonix' business and engineering operations are based at the Seal Beach site, a rehabilitated 78,000 square foot facility that won LEED Gold Certification in February. That facility earned the maximum score for its lighting system designs, which minimize wasted ambient light by focusing on work areas rather than common spaces by installing tubular ‘daylighting’ devices to bring natural light into dark spaces.

“Our two ‘green’ building efforts stand as everyday symbols of our commitment to producing high-efficiency, low-cost solar power systems and reducing our environmental impact,” says CEO Brian Robertson. “The LEED certification process is rewarding and proves that balancing economic advantage with sustainability is achievable.”

Tags: Amonix CPV Multi-junction cells

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