Climate Change Series: San Diego building has tallest solar electric system in U.S.

By Shidonna Raven, Chief Editor

January 29, 2015

Source: Shidonna Raven Garden & Cook and CBS8

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THE San Diego, California Series

According to CBS8 of SAN DIEGO, "A new high-rise in downtown San Diego is reaching new heights when it comes to clean energy.", so we went to California to see the building that boasts being:

"The building has the tallest solar electric system in the United States, which runs from the 5th to the 17th floor."

In a state, California, that boasts having the Number 1 or Number 2 spot in the biggest solar panel market/climate change leader in the United States. Known for its wildfires costing consumers in housing, property loss, insurance costs and more, California is known for packing a lot of heat. This is a hot opportunity for California to turn all that heat to good use with a robust solar panel industry putting natures energy to good use.

"We're going to reduce our natural gas burn here, we're going to reduce the amount of energy we take off the grid. That's going to help on carbon emissions as well as air quality right here in downtown San Diego," Jim Backman said."

Additionally, "The high-rise also has more than 100 solar thermal collectors that generate about half of the building's hot water needs throughout the year."

Low-income areas are a great opportunity for corporate climate change conscious companies to lower business costs while positively impacting the community and targeting low-oncome areas to lead the way. "The president of Adroit Energy, the company that completed the project, says the owner of the building was looking to cut long-term energy bills and integrate renewables into the low- income multi-family high-rise."

We contacted CBS8 News, Adroit Energy and the building owner, they did not reply. Nonetheless, we went to the Calderon building, which you can see below.

The Calderon also displays the GOLD Certificate of LEED tasked with the certification of green buildings are better buildings.

According to, LEED (Leadership in Energy and Environmental Design) its certification provides a framework for healthy, highly efficient, and cost-saving green buildings, which offer environmental, social and governance benefits.

LEED certification is a globally recognized symbol of sustainability achievement, and it is backed by an entire industry of committed organizations and individuals paving the way for market transformation with 197,000 LEED projects worldwide

in 186 countries and territories.

What is the Climate in your area? What is being done to mitigate and adapt to climate change there? What can you learn from what is being done in California? Is there similar Climate as California in your area? How might similar efforts being implemented in California be applied to areas with similar Climate?

We will continue to bring you the best mitigation and adaptation practices from around the globe. According to national reports, California appears to be leading the way in solar panel climate change mitigation.

Sustainable Construction: Green Building Design and Delivery 5th Ed.