The California Independent System Operator Corporation (California ISO) has approved collectively to build a permanent green headquarters for the grid operator. The $160 million project will exemplify the California ISO commitment to the environment, with the goal of attaining a US Green Building Council’s LEED gold rating. In a separate activity on May 18, 2009, the board awarded the construction contract to Clark Construction (Clark).
Other area projects built by Clark include the Capitol Area East End Complex and the Solano County Government Center.
The 278,000 square foot building will be located on Iron Point Road in Folsom on 30 acres of land the ISO purchased in 2000. Completion date is March 2011. The Board also authorized today the issuance of a fixed-rate bond in an amount not to exceed $210 million through the California Infrastructure and Economic Development Bank. The balance of the bond funding is to cover interest, debt service and issuance costs.
“It is no secret that enhanced security measures is the primary reason the California ISO needs this new facility,” said Board Chair Mason Willrich. “The leased space the ISO currently occupies in an older business park does not provide perimeter security and building access control is a concern.”
Additionally, the leased space does not adequately accommodate public and stakeholder forums, and employee workspace is overcrowded. The new facility lobby area will include a renewable power education center and a smart grid lab to showcase high-tech ways to conserve energy and tap consumer-controlled demand response.
“Security and space considerations are the driving forces behind the project,” said Yakout Mansour, president and chief executive officer of California ISO. “However, we will seize the opportunity to lead by example, serving as a model for sustainable building design by using the latest green technology advances.”
The contractor expects to generate more than 350 local jobs over the two-year life of the project, all paying prevailing wage. The ISO employs about 580 employees in Folsom after a staff reduction in recent years. The bulk of the ISO workforce is highly specialized with a focus on engineers, economists, grid dispatchers and large number of IT experts. The new facility will house one of only two operator-in-training programs in the West to address the industry-wide shortage of control room operators. Some of the graduates will go on to work at the ISO and others are expected to be hired on at utilities or other control rooms in the US.
The ISO moved into its current office park when it opened in 1997. The facility was a temporary measure until locating a permanent and secure headquarters. Constructing the new building is only slightly higher than the cost of upgrading and continuing to lease the current facility. The cost of the Iron Point project, about a penny-and-a-half per megawatt impact per year, will be recovered through the grid management charge, which is paid by wholesale users of the power grid.