When the sun shines on A.W. Beattie Career Center this fall, energy will begin to flow ... literally.

Solar energy collectors are just a part of the about $20 million renovation that has made the school on Babcock Boulevard in McCandless a Certified Silver LEED building, and among the first career and technical education facilities in the state to become one.

Developed and administered by the nonprofit U.S. Green Building Council, LEED certification has become the worldwide standard for measuring building sustainability. The LEED green building rating system uses four certification levels for new construction: certified, silver, gold and platinum. Achieving LEED certification means that Beattie can take advantage of state and local government incentives.

Originally built in 1965, this is the building's first renovation.

"We completely gutted it. We had a tremendous amount of asbestos to get rid of, and everything in the building was original," said administrative director Kathryn Ingram, adding that the project was completed ahead of schedule and $3 million under budget.

"The project was $20 million, and when we got our bids back, we were under budget," she recalled. "We spent an extra million and got approval to get all new rooftop air-conditioning units. We used the second million to add a 400-seat auditorium, because before that, we had no way to get our students together all at one time. It's also available for the public to rent and have activities. The last million will be refunded to the taxpayer districts."

Christen Cieslak, owner of Chronicle Consulting LLC, was hired as the construction manager and the LEED administrator on the Beattie project.

"We are on track to achieve a 21 percent reduction in energy [use] ... and a 33 percent reduction in water use," she said, explaining that water-use reduction is achieved by building with high-efficiency plumbing fixtures and water-efficient landscaping.

"We achieve the energy savings by updating the heating and ventilation system to modern efficiency standards and installing motion detectors and lighting controls. In fact, there are many things the school has done besides energy and water-use reduction to demonstrate their commitment to environmental stewardship."

Math/science integration teacher Mary Hoglund was instrumental in firing up people to tackle the process of "going green" the previous school year.

"While the renovations were going on during the 2009-10 school year at Beattie, I started the 'Green Tech Team' for interested faculty members, administrators and any staff at Beattie," said Mrs. Hoglund. "About 12 to 15 participants attended monthly meetings to learn more about the green aspects of Beattie's renovation as well as possible future career enhancements for our students in the areas of green technology."

The team hosted several guest speakers from local solar/wind installers, including Beattie's own renovation project manager, and spent time learning about green projects in the Pittsburgh area.

"Sandy Niggel, supervisor of Career and Technical Education at Beattie, and I attended the Pennsylvania Department of Labor and Industry's Green Listening Session in early spring 2010," Ms. Hoglund said. She said together, they wrote grants to receive state-of-the-art solar photovoltaic and solar thermal training systems from Amatrol, and a computer-based learning package that will enable the students to get hands-on expertise in the latest green energy technology in a safe environment.

Mrs. Ingram said Beattie students would learn on equipment that meets industry standards, as well as the latest in learning tools, including interactive white boards and wireless overhead projectors in every classroom.

Mrs. Cieslak said the school was solidly on the silver certification level, but that the goal was gold. "We are going for the highest level of certification we can achieve," she said.

The public is invited to take a look at Beattie's new building and equipment during a grand opening scheduled for Nov. 13.

"We planned it to be on a Saturday so parents, teachers and students could be there," Mrs. Ingram said.

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