State Activity

Connecticut

NEEP facilitated the development of the Connecticut State Facilities Building Standards Guidelines Compliance Manual for High Performance Buildings. This manual is to accompany the recently revised state building constructions standards. 

NEEP also provided a letter of support for Connecticut House Bill 7377 urging the legislature to adopt green building standards including for schools.

New Hampshire

NEEP attended a meeting with members of the New Hampshire High Performance Schools Working Group to discuss outreach activities and the possibility of hosting a high performance schools conference similar to the one held in Rhode Island. The conference would be held in either late summer or early fall.

New Jersey

NEEP facilitated a meeting with Deane Evans, FAIA from the Center for Architecture and Building Sciences at the New Jersey Institute of Technology to discuss the creation of  a New Jersey High Performance Schools Working Group to expand on the work currently being done by the Department of Education and the Center for Architecture.

Rhode Island

NEEP submitted the final draft of the Rhode Island Schools construction standards to the Department of Education. Public hearings for the standards will be held the first week in April.

In February, NEEP and the Rhode Island High Performance Schools Working Group coordinated the Rhode Island Schools Energy Summit. Working group members include the Department of Education, the Office of Energy Resources, National Grid, the Association of School Committees, Rhode Island School of Design, Hudson Companies, the Association of Facilities Managers, and the Apeiron Institute for Environmental Living.

The Summit kicked off with a welcome address from Rhode Island Governor Donald Carcieri followed by the keynote address from Deane Evans, of the Center for Architecture and Building Sciences at the New Jersey Institute of Technology. Mr. Evans gave an overview of the best design practices and newest technologies to improve learning while being cost effective and preserving the environment. The Summit also featured sessions on funding capital improvement projects through performance contracting, energy audits, energy efficiency and indoor air quality, commissioning, and a case study on the green design experience at Foster Glocester School District. The event was attended by 130 people.

Vermont

NEEP submitted to the final version of the Northeast CHPS to the Vermont Department of Education in the first quarter of 2007. Upon receipt of the final document Vermont submitted to NEEP a one page addendum which NEEP reviewed.  

Regional/National Activity

NEEP facilitated a two day working meeting in Cambridge, Mass. to share information among states that have adopted or are in the process of adopting a state level High Performance Schools program based on the Collaborative for High Performance Schools (CHPS). Representatives from six state Departments of Education, (Maine, Mass., N.H., N.J., N.Y. and Wash.) participated in the meeting, as did representatives from the Collaborative for High Performance Schools and the Vermont Energy Investment Corporation.

Northeast High Performance Schools Protocol (Northeast CHPS)

NEEP has completed the Northeast Collaborative for High Performance School (CHPS) design guide. Formerly referred to as the Northeast Protocol, Northeast CHPS is based on state versions of CHPS in Massachusetts, New York and California. The majority of states in the New England region will use Northeast CHPS as a guideline guideline to build or renovate new schools going forward. For more information on Northeast CHPS, please see the related article in this newsletter.  

Presentations

In January, NEEP presented at a meeting of the Rhode Island Association of School Business Officials meeting in January giving an overview of high performance schools and the proposed changes to the new schools construction regulations.

NEEP, along with Rhode Island Office of Energy Resources hosted a second breakfast series on High Performance Schools. The session was attended by facilities managers, business managers and architects. Matt Pesce of Facilities Strategies Group gave the presentation.

NEEP, along with Sam Nutter, Project Manager for the Massachusetts Technology Collaborative made a presentation addressing “Green Schools Sweeping the Northeast” at the Northeast Sustainable Energy Association (NESEA) Conference in Boston. Mr. Nutter discussed MA-CHPS and NEEP provided an overview of high performance schools, available building guidelines (CHPS, LEED) and case study examples from around the region. 

Outreach

NEEP attended the Better Building Committee meeting at the King Open School in Cambridge, Mass. This group aims to create a better learning environment by improving environmental quality and energy efficiency at the school. NEEP recommended strategies the committee could pursue to make the school more energy efficient.