Another private-sector Arkansas company is making its headquarters a net zero energy user, and it has turned to an experienced contractor to make that happen.
Innerplan Office Interiors of North Little Rock is partnering with Entegrity of Little Rock to offset nearly all of its electricity load with a 102-kilowatt rooftop solar array at its headquarters and enhanced energy efficiency features at its large showrooms in North Little Rock and Fayetteville.
Entegrity knows net zero specifications well, having made news with its own $500,000 net-zero headquarters project last July. It was only the second building in the world to get LEED Zero certification, and the first in the United States, according to Mahesh Ramanujam, president and CEO of the U.S. Green Building Council. He was in Little Rock last year to celebrate the sustainability and energy services company’s achievement. “Of course it’s a small world, with only 7.6 billion people,” Ramanujam joked at the time.
Innerplan, which designs, sells and installs eco-efficient office spaces, will save more than $400,000 over the two-decade agreement with Entegrity. As a private business, it will reap a federal investment tax credit and accelerated depreciation to offset the cost of the project, according to Jacob Estes, business development executive at Entegrity.
“Innerplan is unique in that they are an Arkansas-based furniture company that owns their own building and can install a rooftop-mounted solar array,” Estes said. “This array is designed to offset 99.8% of the company’s electric consumption. Entegrity is honored to work with Innerplan.”
The company had replaced all interior and exterior lighting, taking it from fluorescent to LED, and installed Haworth raised access floors to make its HVAC systems more efficient, according to a news release. Innerplan also reduced paper waste with new electronic software.
“Innerplan purposefully aligns ourselves with manufacturers that have the same goals and intentions we do,” said Tim McMennamy, the company’s president. “We will continue to take all measures we can to invest in research and development to make sure all existing and new-construction interiors are designed as efficiently as we can.”
Innerplan and Entegrity plan to host a “flip the switch” party commemorating the system’s startup next month.
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