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
Greenbuild Report | Nov 30, 2015
10 megatrends shaping the future of green building
Increased competition among green building rating systems, the rise of net-zero buildings, and a sharper focus on existing structures are among the trends that will drive sustainability through 2020, according to author and green building expert Jerry Yudelson.
Contractors | Nov 24, 2015
FMI survey: Millennials in construction get a bad rap, tend to be loyal, hard-working
While the stigma exists that Millennials are entitled, disloyal, and lazy, it appears that this is not true, according to a new report from FMI.
Cultural Facilities | Nov 23, 2015
BIG plans for Pittsburgh: Bjarke Ingels’ Lower Hill District master plan evokes hilly topography
Paths will be carved to create a dialogue between Pittsburgh’s urbanscape and its hilly surroundings.
Architects | Nov 23, 2015
Dewberry acquires Houston’s Wilson Architectural Group
Now known as Dewberry | Wilson, the firm will have access to more MEP, technology design, site/civil, and land development capabilities.
Architects | Nov 19, 2015
Book helps prevent new architecture students from making common mistakes
Written by Iain Jackson, "The Architecture School Survival Guide" covers both broad designing ideas and specific architecture tips.
Architects | Nov 18, 2015
AIA: Demand for design services still up for the year
October's ABI score was 53.1, down slightly from the mark of 53.7 in September. This still reflects an increase in design services, as any score above 50 indicates an increase in billings.
Architects | Nov 16, 2015
Croatia's 'sea organ' lets the ocean make music
Visitors to the shores of the Adriatic Sea in Zadar, Croatia, can hear the sounds of the ocean in an entirely different way. There, when the waves hit the coast, they make music—literally.
Architects | Nov 16, 2015
Perkins Eastman, ForrestPerkins combine practices
The combined international firm will total almost 1,000 employees.
Architects | Nov 10, 2015
AIA releases nine new contract documents
Include six new forms for design-build projects.
Architects | Nov 9, 2015
Perkins+Will acquires London-based Portland Design Associates
The firms will work together to offer “future-proofing” insights to clients.