OGDEN, UT (BRAIN) Thursday July 5 2012 7:08 AM MT—Quality Bicycle Products has received LEED Gold Certification from the U.S. Green Building Council for its distribution center in Ogden, Utah.
“Our goal is to provide a positive role model to other businesses, and show that it’s possible to do the right thing and still be profitable and sustainable,” said Seth Nesselhuf, QBP's advocacy director.
Completed in 2010, QBP’s Ogden distribution center is an 85,000-square-foot facility with geothermal heating and cooling and a 39.5-kilowatt solar panel array. The new structure uses wastewater technologies, high-efficiency appliances and natural light to reduce its environmental footprint as well as its overall operating cost. Other features include rock gardens and drought-resistant native plants.
QBP offers eco-tours of the distribution center the first Wednesday of every month.
QBP’s office and distribution center in Bloomington, Minnesota, earned LEED Gold Certification back in 2007. With the recent addition of a new 40-kilowatt solar array, the system will generate up to 75 kilowatts and fill 10 percent of the facility’s energy needs.
QBP was able to invest in the RAIS PV solar panel array, which produces 60 percent more energy than conventional arrays, due to a combination of utility, state and federal incentives.
“Resources are available for companies that want to add clean solar power to their energy mix,” said Steve Flagg, QBP's president. “We believe this will ultimately add to our bottom-line performance.”
