The nation's first zero netenergy archive facility is now complete in San Diego County. Theproperty is a 25,000-square-foot, single-story property with zeronet energy and LEED Gold certification (pending). The project ispart of San Diego County's aggressive strategic energy plan, whichincludes energy and water efficiency in new construction buildings.C.W. Driver Cos. was the contractor on theproject, with the Miller Hull Partnership servingas architect.

"The general goal is to design a facility and site where therenewable energy production on site meets or exceeds the energyconsumption of the site and the building," EricSchultz, project manager at C.W. Driver, tellsGlobeSt.com. "It requires continuous energy modeling through thedesign process and even through the construction process as thereare design changes and owner-requested changes. In a design-buildmodel, we need to be constantly looking at the design, but theenergy modeling also has to be in alignment with everything else.It is a new element, and a challenge in itself."

The project was built using a design-build model, and as aresult, C.W. Driver was involved in the early stages of the projectas well as construction. This helped the County achieve its loftygoals. "We worked closely with the County from the request forproposal phase through the design phase," says Schultz. We hadregular meetings with the County to develop the design and all ofthe different program requirements that the County was looking for.The County had a very clear vision, originating from the CaliforniaGlobal Warming Solutions Act, which adopted new measures for allnew construction. The County of San Diego approved a strategicenergy plan that emphasized all new construction would be energyand water efficient."