The Mini Fenway in Gateway of Fort Myers JetBlue Park is trying to go green and not just for the luck of the Irish.

The county is already working on ways to make the new JetBlue Park more efficient. 

In a recent interview Bob Taylor (Project Manager) said, “As our budgets get tighter, we have to be more efficient”.

He is documenting each energy efficient move to help save money, while not spending too much of it.

“Energy modeling is allowing us to look at the window glazing, the tinting on that to see if it’s efficient enough to allow adequate lighting, yet provide enough shading so the cooling system works more efficiently,” he explained.

Scraping for more potential savings, the county is also looking to use low volume fixtures for the toilets to cut back on water use – and even the possibility of using LED stadium lights.

This is all to earn LEED certification – or Leadership in Energy and Environmental Design.

And it’s the U.S. Green Building Council that has to give the project the green light.

From wood, to concrete, to cardboard – 95 percent of all construction material on site is recycled, and that helps the project earn LEED certification points.

Taylor says currently, this certification won’t cost the project any extra. But, he says, that could change.

“But if it makes sense to make improvements that will cost us less to operate the facility, and that the payback is there, then we might consider spending a few extra dollars,” he said.

The county is driving to earn that LEED certification when the ball park opens next year.

The Boston Red Sox Spring Training facility is progressing as planned and the different segments of the complex will start coming together soon.