Sustainability
What it protects
Everything the center does is for the world and its people, and it takes care of the people, animals, land, water and air it touches.
People
Free, safe and accessible programs; a youth-safety policy and Pennsylvania clearances for every adult working with minors; water, food and restrooms at every gathering.
The night sky
Shielded, warm-colored outdoor lighting on anything the center builds or leases.
Water
Free refill instead of bottled water; rain gardens away from karst sinks; no open ponds near the airport.
Land and wildlife
Existing buildings before new ones; no work on restricted brownfield ground; anything disturbed is restored.
Air and climate
All-electric buildings and natural energy only: solar on site, and wind, geothermal, heat recovery and permitted hydro for the rest.
Recycle, compost and reuse
Sorting points everywhere
Every site and event has sorting points for recycling, compost and reuse, with clear signs.
Salvage first
Redeveloping or adapting a building starts by salvaging its materials for reuse; what can't be reused is recycled.
Compost
Food and garden waste is composted where a compost option exists (to confirm locally), and the produce gardens use it.
Clean up
Every place is left cleaner than we found it. An event isn't done until its cleanup is.
Natural energy only
Natural sources only
Solar, wind, geothermal and heat recovery, and hydro only where it is permitted, with fish passage and environmental reviews.
Stored for reuse
Energy is stored to be used again: batteries, thermal storage, and pumped storage where the land allows.
Regional hubs
Supply would come through Energy & Logistics Hubs, the proposer's separate idea for hubs that repeat region by region. None is sited, funded or built yet.
The grid's rules
Power crosses the grid only under the utility's and the state's rules: here, PPL Electric's tariff and Pennsylvania's net-metering rules.
Design approach (assumption)
Reuse first
Existing buildings avoid the carbon and cost of new construction. The 2030 milestone uses hosted or leased space only.
Natural supply
On-site solar first, then the rest from natural sources as they become available, under the rule above. Small river hydro is only a later option, where permitted (our judgment). Rough needs: about 45–175 MWh a year for the 2030 program space and 210–750 MWh for the compact center (design assumption, not modelled).
Donations never assumed
Gifts and partnerships may lower costs one day, but they are never treated as guaranteed. A gift-acceptance policy comes first, and every budget on this site is planned as if no gift arrives.
Scroll sideways to see the whole drawing.
Figure 8. Sustainability and energy systems — flows and loops
v0.3 · 2026-10-19 · Diagram — not to scale
In the middle is a planned all-electric, efficient building (an existing building reused first) with heat pumps inside. Energy comes in from the left: solar on site first, the PPL grid both ways under PPL and Pennsylvania rules, optional battery storage and, only after a test bore, a ground loop for the heat pumps. On the right, materials and water run in loops: a repair-and-share library, and water for refills and the gardens. One label marks the building and all its systems as planned.
Figure notes
- Solar on site comes first: rooftop or carport arrays, only where a lease allows.
- The PPL Electric grid works both ways. Pennsylvania net metering allows up to 3 MW, and excess is paid at the price to compare (tariff details to confirm).
- Battery storage is optional: an NFPA 855 room with listed equipment, modeled with and without the 48E storage credit.
- The building is all-electric and efficient: an existing building reused first, heat pumps and heat recovery, ventilation-first lab design, LED and shielded warm lighting, and step-free, quiet rooms with daylight.
- Heat pumps are air-source by default. A ground loop for ground-source heat pumps comes only after a test bore and thermal response test, never in karst sinks and never through restricted brownfield ground.
- Water: free refill stations, and rain gardens and cisterns for the gardens. No ponds near ABE.
- Gardens and shade: native planting, a community garden and outdoor learning.
- Repair and share: a tool and telescope library (lend and return), repair days and reused exhibit parts. A gift policy comes first.
- Electricity
- Heat
- Water
- Materials and reuse
- Optional, or only after a test bore
Planning yield 1,150–1,300 kWh/kWdc/yr for fixed solar is an estimate; no federal solar credit assumed. Sources: [109,162,166,167,169] Planning phase.
More detail
More of the design approach (assumption)
All-electric and efficient
Heat pumps, heat recovery and ventilation-first lab design, because labs use far more energy than offices.
Solar without subsidies
Rooftop or carport solar only where a lease or landlord allows it, modelled with no federal credit.
Storage modelled both ways
Battery rooms under NFPA 855 with listed equipment, modelled with and without the storage credit.
Geoexchange after a test bore
Ground-source heating and cooling only after a test bore and thermal response test, and never through restricted brownfield ground or unstable karst.
Natural and local materials
Reused, local and low-carbon materials first (salvaged steel and brick, wood where code allows), chosen with the design team and checked against the building code.
Repair, reuse and share
A tool and telescope library with checkout and condition notes, repair days and reused exhibit materials.
The facts that shape the plan (October 2026 starting point)
- Estimate Fixed-tilt solar in the Lehigh Valley is estimated at roughly 1,150–1,300 kWh per kWdc per year. This is a planning estimate; a site-specific NREL PVWatts run is required.[167]
- Estimate Lehigh's 3.1 MWdc single-axis tracker array at Goodman (June 2024) works out to about 1,600–1,650 kWh per kWdc per year — an upper bound that rooftop and carport arrays will not reach.[18,19]
- Reported Under P.L. 119-21 (signed 2025-07-04), solar loses the 45Y/48E credits if placed in service after 2027 unless construction began by 2026-07-04. That window has closed, so this plan assumes no federal solar credit.[162,165]
- Reported Energy storage keeps the full 48E credit for construction starting through 2033, then 75% (2034) and 50% (2035). Commercial geothermal heat pumps keep §48 at 30% through 2032, then 26% (2033) and 22% (2034). Foreign-entity and material-assistance rules apply.[162]
- Reported Elective (direct) pay survived the 2025 law, so a tax-exempt nonprofit could still receive eligible credits — mainly storage and geothermal heat pumps — by filing Form 990-T.[164]
- Reported The §179D efficient-buildings deduction ended for construction beginning after 2026-06-30, so it is not available to this project.[163]
- Reported Pennsylvania net metering allows non-residential systems up to 3 MW (5 MW under conditions); year-end excess is paid at the price to compare; virtual meter aggregation is allowed within 2 miles in one utility territory. Bethlehem is PPL Electric territory and PPL's tariff controls the details.[109,166]
- Reported Pennsylvania's Solar for Schools program (Act 68 of 2024) is open only to school entities, so it could help partner schools' own buildings, not this center.[168]
- Reported NFPA 855 (2026 edition) governs stationary battery storage; the edition Bethlehem enforces depends on Pennsylvania's building-code adoption.[169]
- Reported South Mountain is reported as gneiss and quartzite; the Saucon Valley and the area near the airport are carbonate (karst) ground, which raises drilling and stormwater risk.[28,61,62]
- Reported Near the airport, FAA guidance discourages open stormwater ponds within 10,000 ft of runways because they attract wildlife.[59]