A Peak Inside the Unisphere, One of the World’s Largest Net-Zero Buildings

Credit to Author: Guest Contributor| Date: Tue, 31 Dec 2019 12:10:59 +0000

By Marlene Cimons It is hard to build a net-zero building — one that produces more energy than it consumes — in the middle of a city. For one thing, nearby skyscrapers might block sunlight from reaching rooftop solar panels. For another, urban office buildings are cramped for space, and it generally isn’t possible to set up wind turbines on site. But Martine Rothblatt, head of United Therapeutics, would not yield when it came to the company’s new headquarters. When designers warned that erecting a net-zero building in downtown Silver Spring, Maryland would be a formid”It is hard to build a net-zero building — one that produces more energy than it consumes — in the middle of a city. For one thing, nearby skyscrapers might block sunlight from reaching rooftop solar panels. For another, urban office buildings are cramped for space, and it generally isn’t possible to set up wind turbines on site

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