Good To Go, a national chain of gas station/car wash/convenience stores is launching its first one-stop green shop in Grand Chute, Wisconsin on May 1st. Their plan is to minimize the impact that the store and its customers has on the environment. The building follows the specifications laid out by the Leadership in Energy and Environmental Design (LEED) program and plans to be the first certified gas station, car wash and convenience store inside the United States, with 150 more by 2010.
The greenest part of the car wash is the plan to use a water-recycling program, but they also plan to take advantage of direct sunlight in through the windows for lighting and bio-friendly detergents.The fuel pumps will be providing ethanol-based options as well as traditional gasoline and diesel as well.
But the craziest part of the whole place is the roof:
The Good to Go ECOnvenience Center features a green roof with plantsand sod that minimize absorption of sunlight that could heat the building and force overuse of its HVAC system… The soil also acts like asponge to absorb rain and reduce storm water runoff by as much as 95percent after a one-inch downpour.
I have to admit this is a pretty great idea to help keep the building cool and worry about rain damage. The only question I have is, how are they going to cut the grass?Source
