Milwaukee, WI: Energy performance

Better Buildings Challenge Partners strive to decrease portfolio-wide source energy use intensity (EUI) and to increase the percent improvement compared to a set baseline. Milwaukee's portfolio consists of more than 100 buildings and 4.5 million square feet. *Milwaukee has improved energy performance by 6% from a 2009 baseline. Given 2021 utility bill inaccuracies un-covered through the ESPM tool, Milwaukee is more closely tracking energy bills and may undertake a full audit process to ensure the accuracy of energy data. With new incentives and credits available from the Inflation Reduction Act and the Infrastructure Investment and Jobs Acts, the Energy Reduction Team is now developing an Energy Savings Performance Contract to access the additional capital needed to accelerate energy efficiency, renewable energy and other decarbonization strategies for City of Milwaukee buildings, which can now go further thanks to federal incentives available directly to municipalities. 

Looking at the percent improvement in energy performance across all properties can provide insight into how an organization is saving energy. Milwaukee has achieved energy performance improvement of 15% or greater at 33 properties overall/19 since 2019. The City's Energy Reduction Team continues to evaluate opportunities for energy savings in all buildings, with an emphasis on projects that have the greatest return on investment.

Property-level energy performance metrics, including EUI and percent improvement to date, are critical to track progress over time and identify opportunities for additional energy savings. The Energy Reduction Team uses Portfolio Manager and other energy analysis tools to identify opportunities for improvement, using both technology and behavioral approaches. In 2019, Milwaukee created a comprehensive energy plan that included investment grade audits of the building portfolio, established minimum energy efficiency guidelines, and created an implementation roadmap to reach a 20% reduction. Milwaukee will pursue an Energy Savings Performance Contract to accelerate the pace of energy efficiency, renewable energy, and other efforts to reduce energy use and decarbonize the City of Milwaukee's buildings.