WASHINGTON, D.C.--(ENEWSPF)--November 30, 2010. During a live online chat at the White House earlier today, U.S. Energy Secretary Steven Chu announced that 24 projects are receiving a total of $21 million in technical assistance to dramatically reduce the energy used in their commercial buildings. This initiative, supported with funding from the American Recovery and Reinvestment Act, will connect commercial building owners and operators with multidisciplinary teams including researchers at DOE's National Laboratories and private sector building experts. The teams will design, construct, measure, and test low-energy building plans, and will help accelerate the deployment of cost-effective energy-saving measures in commercial buildings across the United States.
"These Recovery Act projects are bringing together experts from our National Laboratories and the private sector to help businesses and organizations reduce the energy they use in their facilities, saving them money on their energy bills and making them more competitive economically," said Secretary Chu. "This initiative will also demonstrate to other commercial building operators that cost-effective, energy-efficient technologies exist today that will help lower the operating and energy costs of their buildings."
Through DOE's Commercial Building Partnerships, teams comprised of private sector technical experts and personnel from National Laboratories will help guide projects to achieve 30 percent measured energy savings in existing buildings and 50 percent energy savings in new construction projects. About half of the two dozen projects focus on energy efficiency upgrades for existing buildings. The three-year projects will provide comprehensive business and technical case studies for broad publication, including actual energy performance data from the completed projects, to help spur wider adoption of energy-efficient building practices across the industry.
The projects are funded with a public/private cost-sharing agreement, where the building owners and operators contribute at least 20 percent. Building owners and operators do not receive direct funding through the project, but instead get access to state-of-the-art technical guidance to implement energy efficiency technologies throughout the design, construction, and evaluation phases of their building and retrofit projects. This technical expertise includes energy modeling and energy performance verification by laboratory researchers and private sector experts.
The selected building owners and operators benefit by learning about measures they can apply across their extensive building portfolios. The use of private sector consultants and National Laboratory experts helps ensure that the energy efficiency measures and lessons learned in the projects will be quickly adopted by the marketplace.
Three DOE National Laboratories-Lawrence Berkeley National Laboratory (LBNL), the National Renewable Energy Laboratory (NREL), and the Pacific Northwest National Laboratory (PNNL)-will manage the effort and provide technical assistance for the selected projects. The aggressive energy efficiency design goals for each project include reasonable returns on investment and must meet other business criteria established in collaboration with the partners.
Each project will receive technical assistance valued at between $200,000 and $1.2 million, depending on the scope and nature of the plan. The following is a list of the selected projects:
* Cascadia Center for Sustainable Design and Construction; The Bullitt Foundation; Seattle, Washington
* Center for Alternative, Renewable Energy, Technology and Training; Clark Atlanta University; Atlanta, Georgia
* The College of Architecture + Planning at the University of Utah; Salt Lake City, Utah
* The Defense Commissary Agency; Lackland Air Force Base; San Antonio, Texas
* Grand Valley State University; Allendale, Michigan
* Hines; Somerset, New Jersey
* The Home Depot; Rocklin, California
* Living City Block; Denver, Colorado
* The LOOP at the University of California; Mesa Lane Partners; Santa Barbara, California
* Long Beach Gas and Oil; Long Beach, California
* Massachusetts Institute of Technology; Cambridge, Massachusetts
* Oregon Built Environment & Sustainable Technologies Center; Portland, Oregon
* Shy Brothers Farm; Westport, Massachusetts
* Sierra Nevada Job Corps; Reno, Nevada
* Smart Grid Development; North Kingstown, Rhode Island
* Twentieth Century Fox Film Corporation; Los Angeles, California
* University of California Merced; Merced, California
* University of South Carolina; Columbia, South Carolina
* U.S. Army; Fort Bragg, North Carolina
* U.S. General Services Administration; Portsmouth, New Hampshire
* U.S. General Services Administration; Region 9 locations
* U.S. General Services Administration; San Francisco
* Walmart; two locations to be determined
During the selection process, each building owner or operator submitted plans for designing a new building or upgrading existing buildings and committed to working with National Laboratories and technical experts. Project selection criteria included the likelihood of achieving significant energy savings, the probability of success, widespread deployment potential, contribution to a diverse DOE portfolio of energy-saving solutions, and the organizations' commitment to improving energy efficiency.
Learn more about Commercial Building Partnerships and other projects that are part of DOE's Building Technologies Program.
Related Stories
Codes and Standards | Aug 3, 2022
Some climate models underestimate risk of future floods
Commonly used climate models may be significantly underestimating the risk of floods this century, according to a new study by Yale researchers.
| Aug 3, 2022
Designing learning environments to support the future of equitable health care
While the shortage of rural health care practitioners was a concern before the COVID-19 pandemic, the public health crisis has highlighted the importance of health equity in the United States and the desperate need for practitioners help meet the needs of patients in vulnerable rural communities.
Reconstruction & Renovation | Aug 3, 2022
Chicago proposes three options for Soldier Field renovation including domed stadium
The City of Chicago recently announced design concepts for renovations to Soldier Field, the home of the NFL’s Chicago Bears.
Codes and Standards | Aug 2, 2022
New tools help LEED projects reach health goals
The U.S. Green Building Council now offers tools to support the LEED Integrative Process for Health Promotion (IPHP) pilot credit.
Market Data | Aug 2, 2022
Nonresidential construction spending falls 0.5% in June, says ABC
National nonresidential construction spending was down by 0.5% in June, according to an Associated Builders and Contractors analysis of data published today by the U.S. Census Bureau.
K-12 Schools | Aug 1, 2022
Achieving a net-zero K-12 facility is a team effort
Designing a net-zero energy building is always a challenge, but renovating an existing school and applying for grants to make the project happen is another challenge entirely.
Healthcare Facilities | Aug 1, 2022
New Phoenix VA outpatient clinic is one of the largest veteran care facilities in the U.S.
The new Phoenix 32nd Street VA Clinic, spanning roughly 275,000 sf over 15 acres, is one of the largest veteran care facilities in the U.S.
Codes and Standards | Jul 29, 2022
Few projects and properties are being built beyond code
Clients and architects disagree on how well building to code provides resilience, according to a recent report by the American Institute of Architects (AIA) in partnership with Owens Corning.
Headquarters | Jul 29, 2022
Nike HQ’s newest, largest structure: the Serena Williams Building
In Beaverton, Ore., the new Serena Williams Building, at just over 1 million square feet, is the largest structure at Nike World Headquarters.
| Jul 28, 2022
Fanning Howey hires Dennis Bane, AIA, as Project Executive
Fanning Howey, an architecture, interiors and engineering firm specializing in learning environments, has hired Dennis Bane, AIA, ALEP, to serve as a Project Executive for the firm’s Indianapolis office.
