Founded in 2011, Powerhouse represents a collaboration in the development of energy-positive buildings, and consists of property company Entra, entrepreneur Skanska, environmental organization Zero, Snøhetta architects and consulting company Asplan Viak. The original idea behind the alliance was that it takes more than one team to build a positive-energy building, according to Rune Stene, Powerhouse’s managing director. To reach the rigorous Powerhouse standard, a building must be an energy-positive facility that, in the course of a 60-year period, generates more renewable energy than the total amount of energy that would be required to sustain daily operations, and to build the building, produce materials for it and demolish it. In Svart’s case, this means that by around 2080, the hotel will have produced more energy than it cost to create and operate. It will likely meet its goal considering the building is proposed to reduce its yearly energy consumption by 85 percent compared to other modern hotels. Svart will also harvest enough solar energy to cover both its operations and the energy needed to construct it. While other certifications like LEED, WELL and BREEAM consider environmental or social factors, the Powerhouse standard focuses solely on plus-energy facilities. “There is no other concept as challenging as Powerhouse that we know about, when it comes to energy,” says Stene. “There are several plus-energy buildings around, but they typically only account for the operational energy, not the entire lifecycle. The material embodied energy is a substantial part of the building.” How to Become Powerhouse CertifiedStene states that there isn’t necessarily a certification process. Rather, a report must be gathered that details exactly how the energy budget comes together to create a surplus. When construction on a proposed Powerhouse building such as Svart is complete, the Powerhouse alliance checks the numbers (which are open to public record) to ensure that the facility is up to its standards. Stene says that, so far, Powerhouse has completed two projects, two are currently in construction and three are in design (including Svart).