855773644-LEED-v5-BD-C-Reference-Guide-Launch-Edition - Page 348

Extracted Content

• Tier 1 . On-site renewable energy generation or social impact project

  • Tier 2 . New off-site renewable electricity

  • Tier 3 . Off-site renewable energy

Projects may choose to supply or procure renewable energy from Tier 1, Tier 2, and Tier 3 renewable energy for a maximum of five points.

For all three tiers of renewable energy, the project team should first confirm that the project will comply with the credit requirements for renewable energy environmental attributes and renewable contract length before proceeding with procurement and/or installation of the renewable energy.

RENEWABLE ENERGY CLASSIFICATIONS

Tier 1: On-site Renewable Energy Generation or Social Impact Project

On-site renewable energy generation when strategically integrated with grid-interactive strategies can increase the building resilience and support effective grid management.

To qualify as a Tier 1 renewable system, the renewable energy must be produced and generated either on the project site, the site of the contiguous campus where the project is located, or the site of a social impact project.

ELIGIBLE TIER 1 RENEWABLE RESOURCE TYPES Eligible Tier 1 renewable energy resources include:

o Solar electric (photovoltaic)

o Solar thermal (i.e., for service water heating or hot water heating)

o Wind

o Recovered heat from municipal wastewater

Only usable energy generated from the renewable system shall be considered towards the Tier 1 renewable energy contribution. Usable energy is defined as the output energy from the system less any transmission and conversion losses, such as standby heat loss, losses when converting electricity from DC to AC, or waste heat that is exhausted to the atmosphere. Sell the excess energy beyond the building’s energy demand at a given point to the utility company (net metering) when all associated renewable attributes are retained by the project owner. Net metered electricity may count toward the renewable contribution up to 100% of annual electricity and district energy use.

U.S. Green Building Council LEED v5 Reference Guide for Building Design and Construction, April 2025 Launch Edition 338