PHILADELPHIA -- A groundbreaking ceremony on April 24 will provide an opportunity for the public to hear about the development of two buildings at the Energy Efficient Buildings (EEB) Hub at the Navy Yard in Philadelphia. The buildings, being developed by Penn State with support from the Commonwealth of Pennsylvania and the U.S. Economic Development Administration, will facilitate public education and outreach on matters related to building efficiency, and will function as the headquarters for the EEB Hub. The Hub was established in 2011 by the U.S. Department of Energy (DOE) to fuel research into energy efficiency, accelerate adoption of energy-efficient building technology and foster economic development through the creation of a new sector and industry.
The celebration will take place Kitty Hawk Avenue and 12th Street, with festivities starting at noon and a ceremony at 1 p.m. Speakers will include Tom Corbett, governor of Pennsylvania; Michael Nutter, mayor of Philadelphia; Kathleen Hogan, deputy assistant secretary for energy efficiency at the DOE; Matt Erskine, deputy assistant secretary of the U.S. Economic Development Administration; Rodney Erickson, president of Penn State; and Henry Foley, vice president for research at Penn State and executive director of the EEB Hub. To register, and for more information, visit http://paperless.ly/16k7YUX.
The event will celebrate the retrofitting of the 38,000-square-foot Navy Yard Building 661, renamed the Center for Building Energy Science, which will function as a living laboratory to showcase energy saving technologies. Additionally, the ceremony will celebrate the construction of a new, 25,200-square-foot building, to house the Center for Building Energy Education and Innovation. The total project budget for both buildings combined is $33 million, with $30 million funded by the state and $3 million from the Economic Development Administration. Completion of both renovation and construction is expected by spring 2014.
In 2011, Penn State researchers were awarded $159 million in grants, primarily from the DOE and the Commonwealth of Pennsylvania. The funds created the EEB Hub, which will involve a substantial number of researchers from academia, the private sector and two national laboratories in a concerted effort to save energy, reduce greenhouse gas emissions and position the United States at the forefront of the energy-efficient building industry.
To learn more about the EEB Hub, visit www.eebhub.org.