As seen in the CSU Zone.

Eight new buildings expected to pop up on the Colorado State University campus will be "green" in function but without the pricey industry certification.

Certifying the facilities, which will be constructed to the Leadership in Energy and Environmental Design, or LEED, gold certification standard, is too expensive, said Brian Chase, director of facilities at CSU.
      
The eight buildings, including dining commons, a computer science building and a parking garage, will cost a combined $300 million. It would cost an additional $240,000 to $400,000 to certify those buildings through LEED.

"We would rather see the money spent on more green features than on the paperwork; $50,000 will buy 10 kilowatts of solar power," Chase said.

With LEED-certified architects and the LEED point system in hand, the buildings will be constructed using green lighting, renewable energy, clean indoor air quality and other items that make a building qualify for the LEED designation.

The LEED program was created in 2000 to provide a common definition for green building and a way to verify the sustainablity of buildings, said Ashley Katz, a spokeswoman for U.S. Green Building Council in Washington, D.C.

There were 46 certified and 259 registered LEED projects in Colorado at the beginning of February.

While many builders use LEED certification as a guideline for building green, the extra expense to certify a building through the Green Building Council might be better spent elsewhere, said Stu Reeve, energy manager for Poudre School District.

PSD has six green schools, only two of which have been or will be certified through the LEED program. The district spent about $50,000 to get a "silver" LEED certification for Fossil Ridge High School, a process that included consultants to build the project. Bethke Elementary School, a new school in Timnath, which may be the first school in the nation certified under the LEED program specifically for schools, could cost about $20,000 to $25,000.

Rice, Bacon and Zach elementary schools, as well as Kinard Junior High School, are all built to LEED standards but never went through the formal process.

"I think LEED is a wonderful tool, and it drives an awesome process," Reeve said.

The average registration fee for LEED certification is $450 and another $2,000 for the certification process, though that can vary depending on the size of the building, the Green Building Council's Katz wrote in an e-mail to the Coloradoan.

Having a LEED certification, however, may be beneficial in the private sector when it comes to selling the building, officials said.

"The LEED rating system offers a third-party rating system of the green attributes of the building," Katz wrote.