TD Bank will open its first net-zero energy U.S. bank location this spring, the company announced.
The branch in Fort Lauderdale, Fla., will use about 97,000 kWh of electricity a year but will produce at least 100,000 kWh a year, the bank said. It features a solar drive-through canopy that produces 20 percent of the building’s annual energy needs, as well as roof-mounted and ground-mounted solar panels.
The Fort Lauderdale bank, which is now under construction, will also target LEED Platinum certification.
The location will adhere to the National Renewable Energy Laboratory’s definition of net-zero (pdf) by producing and exporting in a year at least as much renewable power as the total energy it uses, the bank said.
In accordance with the NREL definition, the bank will also be constructed with energy-efficient technologies that significantly reduce its demand, the bank said.
Only eight buildings in the U.S. are registered as net-zero with the Department of Energy (DOE), and TD Bank will be the first to register a net-zero bank branch, the company said.
The DOE defines four classes of net-zero energy buildings, ranked from A to D, and T.D. Bank will achieve a B classification. The rating indicates that the building is energy-efficient and generates sufficient renewable energy from within its footprint and adjacent land.
The building is based on TD Bank’s new green design standards, which make new locations almost 50 percent more energy efficient than the bank’s previous design, the company said.
"The nation’s first net-zero energy bank is a continuation of TD Bank’s ongoing efforts to reduce our environmental footprint,” said real estate green strategy officer Jacquelynn Henke. “In 2010 we became the largest U.S.-based bank to be carbon neutral by building LEED-certified stores and offices, and making continuous significant investments in renewable energy."
In the last year, TD bank received a Green Power Partner Leadership Award from the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA), and purchased enough renewable energy credits to meet 100 percent of its energy needs. Yesterday the EPA revealed that TD Bank places 16th in its ranking of member companies in the EPA Green Power Partnership, by purchasing over 240 million kWh of green power a year.
In the last year TD Bank also became a participating member of paper manufacturer Boise Inc.’s Closed Loop System, which will buy, recycle, repurchase and repurpose 1,500 metric tons of paper from TD’s operations in the U.S. and Canada.
