Three buildings at new UC Merced campus earn LEED Silver rating

The University of California Merced's first three buildings, known as the central plant, have been certified LEED Silver by the U.S. Green Building Council, the university said. The entire UC Merced campus was designed to achieve LEED Silver. It is the first new full-campus certification project in the nation.

The central plant complex consists of three buildings—a three-story unit that houses most of the university's power and infrastructure operations, a telecommunications building, and a two-million-gallon water-storage tank. The complex earned credits for efficient energy management, water-use reduction, recycling, waste management, lighting, materials selection, landscaping, transportation management, and other factors.