NEWS

Turning Green: Empire State Building harnesses Wind Energy

One of the world's largest and most iconic office buildings is being slowly transformed with the aim of reducing energy consumption by 38%, and it is now one of the largest purchasers of renewable energy.

The Empire State Building is now using renewable wind energy

The Empire State Building - Manhattan's iconic 1,250 ft, 102-storey landmark - is undergoing a complete transformation to make it a more sustainable and energy efficient part of the New York skyline.

Once complete, the retrofit will result in a Gold level LEED certification and the building should reduce its energy consumption by a massive 38%. Energy bills are expected to drop by $4.4 million a year, and over the next 15 years, up to 105,000 metric tons of greenhouse gas emissions will be saved.

Wind energy

The Empire State Building - which is a popular location for businesses seeking executive suites in Manhattan - has now become one of the largest purchasers of renewable energy since it agreed to purchase over 100 million kWh of wind energy over the next two years.

This is said to be more than double the amount of renewable energy purchased by any other commercial customer in New York City, and is expected to offset an estimated 45 million kilograms of carbon dioxide emissions each year. This would have the same effect as turning off all the lights in every NY state house, for a week.

The Empire State Building, Manhattan

Anthony E. Malkin, president of Malkin Holdings - supervisor of The Empire State Building - commented that the transformation of the iconic office building, including clean energy and reduced consumption would give them "a competitive advantage in attracting the best credit tenants at the best rents".

He added: "Our program of innovation at the Empire State Building shows simple, replicable, non-proprietary steps for other landlords to follow to be more energy efficient, cleaner and greener."

As part of efforts to boost the Empire State Building's green credentials, the icon has also undergone a refurbishment program that upgraded all of its 6,500 windows to increase their insulation qualities, at a cost of over $13m.

During early analysis of the building's energy performance, it was discovered that the windows lost a massive amount of energy, and this was one of the key phases of improving its overall sustainability.

The windows were purposefully renovated on-site using existing glass, resulting in highly efficient triple-glazed panels, which also meant less energy spent on shipping and reduced production waste.

New York City Mayor Mike Bloomberg says that the 'greening' of the Empire State Building is "showing the rest of the city that existing buildings, no matter how tall they are, no matter how old they are, can take steps to significantly reduce their energy consumption."

Keep up with the renovation of the Empire State Building online at www.esbsustainability.com.

If you are interested in executive suites to rent in the Empire State Building or elsewhere in Manhattan, visit us.officebroker.com to browse a wide range of offices to lease, or call our experts on 1-877-663-6652 for free help and advice.