January 2010
Heartland headquarters is first LEED Platinum building in state
By Alan Van Ormer
Heartland Consumer Power District’s state-of-the-art LEED Platinum headquarters building is now open along Highway 34 in southeast Madison.
“This is one of the highest efficient buildings in the region,” said Heartland General Manager and CEO Mike McDowell. “It will be the first LEED Platinum building in South Dakota.”
LEED stands for Leadership in Energy Efficient Development. LEED Platinum is the highest and most difficult to achieve construction standard.
Heartland’s headquarters will also be mentioned along side other buildings developed by Koch Hazard Architects in Sioux Falls, a well-known architectural firm that specializes in Green facilities.
Heartland asks its customers to invest in energy efficient technologies and to examine their operations to see where they could use energy more efficiently, McDowell said.
“We felt that Heartland must set an example by making these investments of money and time ourselves,” he said.
Heartland plans to add three new professional positions in the next two to three years. The building in downtown Madison will be occupied by the South Dakota Rural Water Districts Association, with 14 new professional jobs moving into the building, McDowell said.
Almost 30 months ago, Heartland started planning for a new building after it was evident that the municipal electric company was outgrowing the building in downtown Madison.
“We had outgrown this building,” McDowell said. “Our load is growing. Our activities are growing.”
The $3.2 million, 9,300 square foot building is located on 4.5 acres. The property has a prairie pothole that will be filled by water runoff from the building’s roof and parking lot that will be used to provide irrigation for the native South Dakota landscaping.
A portion of energy will be provided by a solar photovoltaic array on the roof, as well as a block of green power slated to be purchased from the city of Madison from production of the Wessington Springs Wind Project.
“The lobby of our new headquarters will be used to deploy interactive activities for the public to learn more about energy efficiency, renewable resources and sustainable use of existing resources,” McDowell said. “There will also be a public LCD board showing the real time performance of all of our generation resources. Our energy efficiency staff will also be available to offer tours and explanations for these and other features of the building.”
McDowell said the building will set an example of what can be done now with existing technology to use energy more efficiently, lower carbon emissions and build these savings in the economy permanently.
“Heartland has staked out a position of leadership in going down this path,” he said. “Madison will be known as the base for leadership in this area.”
Heartland Consumers Power District provides supplemental power and energy to municipal electrical systems in South Dakota, Minnesota and Iowa, as well as several South Dakota state institutions.