A Sustainable Destination

Part of downtown Orlando’s Parramore District, the Kia Center is the first NBA facility to earn a Leadership in Energy and Environmental Design (LEED) new construction certification from the U.S. Green Building Council. Home to the Orlando Magic, Orlando Solar Bears and Orlando Predators, and host to a wide range of concerts and special events, the venue uses 20% less energy and 40% less water than arenas of similar size.
 
The Kia Center’s eco-friendly features include preferred parking for hybrids and other energy-efficient vehicles, high-efficiency heating and cooling systems, ultra-low-flow toilets, a reflective and insulated roof that reduces cooling costs, high-tech monitoring systems that shut off the lights when a room is empty, bicycle racks, showers and changing rooms for workers who bike to work, systems to treat storm runoff before it can pollute nearby lakes, and recycling bins for fans and concertgoers.

Located east of Orlando in Christmas, Orlando Wetlands Park is one the largest man-made wetlands in the world. The structure was designed with a hydraulic capacity of 35 million gallons per day of reclaimed wastewater.
 
The water is transported through a 4-foot diameter pipeline for approximately 17 miles to the influent distribution structure of the wetlands. Seventeen cells and three distinct wetland ecosystems were created to remove residual amounts of nutrients, such as nitrogen and phosphorus, from the reclaimed water.
 
These ecological communities include deep marsh areas, mixed marsh, wet prairie and hardwood cypress swamps. The site added 2.3 million aquatic plants, including 200,000 trees, to build these thriving environments. The reclaimed water meanders through the various habitats and eventually arrives at the two outfall structures for the wetland system. The flow leaves the Orlando Wetlands Park via a canal and flows into the St. Johns River.

UCF’s Student Union has a 1,600-square-foot (1,486-square-meter) Green Roof that provides 43.3% energy savings during the summer. When these roofs launched in 2007, UCF was the second location in all Florida and the first university to implement this technology.
 
The building’s planted greenery makes an 80-degree difference in the roof’s temperature, extends the life of the roof membrane, and cuts energy costs. It also retains 80% of the average storm water volume, which is then used for irrigation purposes. What’s more, UCF’s physical science building, recreation and wellness center, College of Medicine Medical Education, and Burnett School of Biomedical Sciences are LEED certified.

Orange County was awarded a $20 million grant to create Local Alternative Mobility Network (LAMN) in Tavistock Group’s Lake Nona community in the City of Orlando. The BUILD grant is going toward creating new and modifying existing infrastructure in Lake Nona, including multi-modal corridors with autonomous vehicle lanes, bicycle and pedestrian pathways, an integrated and multi-use mobility hub, and support for autonomous vehicles (AV), which have already been deployed as the Beep shuttle service.
 
Orlando is an ideal place to test autonomous vehicles because it provides a range of weather conditions, it’s home to many tech universities that provide talent, and the state of Florida has favorable regulation for self-driving cars. No wonder we’re home to Luminar, which designs lasers and sensors for self-driving cars to navigate roads. Also of note, the SunTrax test facility is a 2.25-mile track designed to test high-speed travel.
 
Construction and expansions at Orlando International Airport (MCO) and Port Canaveral, as well as expansions to passenger rail, continue to increase the number of sustainable transportation options in the region.

• Florida’s first hydrogen energy station is in Orlando. A result of a collaborative effort between the State of Florida, Ford Motor Company, ChevronTexaco and Progress Energy, it fuels eight hydrogen-powered shuttles that transport visitors at Orlando International Airport.
• The Orlando area is home to more than 300 government, academic and corporate entities working on alternative fuels, including the Central Florida Clean Air Team, a group striving to improve air quality in the metropolitan area through initiatives like advocating for the use of alternative fuels.
• Central Florida Regional Transportation Authority, which operates LYNX public-transportation services, became the first transit agency in the nation to produce and implement biodiesel blending for its entire fleet in 2010.
• As part of a Purchase Power Agreement with a solar developer, Orlando Utilities Commission (OUC) established Orange County’s first solar farm at Stanton Energy Center. The 5.9-megawatt solar PV array in east Orange County can generate enough renewable energy to power more than 600 homes. The newer Kenneth P. Ksionek Community Solar Farm operates atop a closed byproduct landfill at a power plant, giving customers access to maintenance-free solar energy without having to install panels on their homes or businesses.
• The Florida Solar Energy Center (FSEC), an internationally acclaimed institute of the University of Central Florida, is the country’s leading renewable energy research center. FSEC researches renewable energy and energy efficiency in partnership with nonprofit organizations, private sponsors and national laboratories. FSEC focuses on solar, thermal and PV systems, as well as hydrogen technologies.
• City of Orlando Fire Department stations 14, 15, 16 and 17 all carry a LEED certification. As well, stations 1 and 7 are LEED Gold Certified for their outstanding commitment to encourage environmentally friendly practices.
• The Indian River Queen, a 260-passenger riverboat that provides day cruises, parties and special events, utilizes the Marine Dragonfly wastewater management system. A vessel using this system becomes self-sufficient with its holding tanks in No Discharge Zones and avoids introducing harsh chemicals into the environment.
• The Sanford Airport Authority and TBI Airport Management Inc. partnered with Energy Systems Group on a 10-year agreement at the Orlando Sanford International Airport (SFB) for energy conservation and facility upgrades. It produces a 35.4% reduction of carbon emissions generated by existing electrical usage, and it reduces water consumption by 982,080 gallons (3,717,577 liters) per year.
• The Downtown Development Board (DDB), in partnership with the Solid Waste Division, launched the Downtown Orlando Commercial Recycling Pilot Program. The goal of this program is to make recycling readily accessible, convenient and manageable for downtown Orlando commercial establishments.
• The University of Central Florida manages 800 acres of land, improves storm-water drainage and preserves the habitats of more than 45 animal species. It also converts vegetable oil to biodiesel fuel for on-campus vehicle operations. The university removed trays from its dining halls to decrease food waste by as much as 30%. New construction at UCF is designed to meet the highest LEED standards of efficiency, and a third of the campus energy demand is met using natural gas.
• Rollins College is home to a student-run sustainability program that implements campus-wide initiatives toward a more eco-friendly community. The green programs include efficient lighting, recycling and low-flow shower heads. Additionally, the Rollins Museum of Art gift shop is a fair-trade certified vendor.
• IKEA Orlando is becoming 100% renewable. All wood used is from sustainable sources in countries with a history of challenges related to forest management.