The California Air Resources Board (CARB) recently broke ground on its new Southern California headquarters. The 380,000-square-foot building will be home to one of the world’s largest and most advanced vehicle emissions testing and research facilities.

The new headquarters will include light-, medium- and heavy-duty test cells, space for onboard diagnostics and portable emissions measurement system development, and a separate chemistry laboratory. The planned office space will accommodate about 460 employees. There will also be a 250-person auditorium and an adjacent conference room.

The building will be certified LEED Platinum, the highest level awarded by the US Green Building Council for sustainability and energy efficiency. According to CARB, it will be the largest net-zero-energy structure in the nation. Solar panels will supply at least 3.5 megawatts of electricity, and the parking lot will include at least 120 EV charging stations.

Of the $419 million in construction costs, $154 million was financed by fines paid by Volkswagen for air quality violations related to the dirty diesel scandal.

Source: CARB via Green Car Congress