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Today, the U.S. Department of Energy (DOE) announced the launch of the Industrial Technology Validation (ITV) pilot to validate and accelerate the adoption of cost-effective, emerging technologies with the potential to generate significant operational efficiency improvements for the U.S. industrial sector and water and wastewater treatment facilities.

“Under the Better Buildings Initiative, DOE is proud to partner with industry in support of American energy competitiveness,” said Deputy Secretary of Energy Mark W. Menezes. “Participants are teaming with innovative technology vendors to realize significant energy savings for American businesses and consumers.”

The U.S. Department of Energy (DOE) announced that Better Buildings, Better Plants partners have cumulatively saved more than $8 billion in energy costs and 1.7 quadrillion British thermal units (BTUs).

More than 235 organizations now partner with DOE through Better Plants. This year, DOE welcomed 20 new partners to the program and challenge, representing 3,200 facilities and roughly 12% of the U.S. manufacturing energy footprint. These partners come from all 50 states, Washington, D.C., and Puerto Rico, and include Fortune 100 companies, family-owned small businesses, and water treatment organizations.

“Better Plants Partners exemplify the innovative spirit of American manufacturing,” said Deputy Assistant Secretary for Energy Efficiency Alex Fitzsimmons. “These partners are developing, implementing, and sharing innovative, energy-efficient practices that help their organizations save energy and money, which in turn helps the U.S. economy stay competitive.”

The U.S. Department of Energy (DOE) has announced nearly $11 billion in energy-cost savings by more than 950 public and private sector organizations in DOE’s Better Buildings Initiative. To date, partners have saved nearly 1.8 quadrillion British thermal units of energy, which is equivalent to the electricity consumption of 27 million homes in America over one year. The 2020 Better Buildings Progress Report, released at the Better Buildings, Better Plants Virtual Leadership Symposium, details partners’ progress in advancing energy productivity and highlights the 20 organizations that achieved their energy efficiency goals in the past year. DOE also recognized partners that met previous challenge goals and have set new goals to achieve even greater energy efficiency.

DOE’s Office of Energy Efficiency and Renewable Energy also announced four new Better Buildings efforts: the Better Buildings Workforce Accelerator, the Better Buildings Sustainable Corrections Infrastructure Accelerator, the Integrated Lighting Campaign, and the Building Envelope Campaign. These efforts are aimed at increasing American energy productivity; catalyzing investments in renewable energy and energy storage in public facilities; integrating advanced lighting controls in buildings; and helping building owners and managers develop more energy-efficient walls, windows, roofs, and foundations.

Today, the U.S. Department of Energy (DOE) recognized Better Buildings Challenge partner Chesapeake College for energy efficiency advances made throughout its Wye Mills, Maryland campus. The college has reduced its energy intensity by 24% since 2011, reaching its Better Buildings Challenge goal of 20% energy reduction eight years ahead of schedule. Chesapeake College has saved more than $250,000 per year in energy costs, and is committed to achieving carbon neutrality in campus operations by 2025.

While adding 20% more campus space, the college has continued to reduce energy usage through equipment upgrades, energy efficiency education programs, and new building and system operations scheduling across the 373,000-square-foot campus. The campus has made sustainability advances beyond energy efficiency as well, including campus-based and publicly-accessible recycling.

Most recently, the college completed a 1.8-megawatt solar array with 1-megawatt battery backup. Through a power purchase agreement and a partnership with the local utility, the college is developing this project into a partial campus microgrid. In times of crisis or disaster, the microgrid will allow campus buildings to serve as critical infrastructure for the regional community, providing stability and resilience.

Today, the U.S. Department of Energy (DOE) recognized Better Buildings Challenge partner MetLife Investment Management for energy efficiency advances made in its District Center. The 910,000-square-foot building in Washington, D.C. is a Better Buildings showcase project and saves 31% annually on energy costs, which equates to more than $500,000 per year, a 33% energy reduction compared to a 2014 baseline.

As a Better Buildings Challenge partner, MetLife Investment Management has committed to reducing its energy intensity by 20% by 2026 over its 53 million-square-foot portfolio. The efficiency progress made at District Center is a key milestone as MetLife works toward this goal and showcases its work. 

Today, the U.S. Department of Energy (DOE) recognized Better Buildings, Better Plants partner TE Connectivity for energy productivity advances made in its Lickdale, Pennsylvania, plant. The 254,000-square-foot plant employs 500 people and manufactures electrical connectors and contacts used in many applications, primarily household appliances. Through its energy-efficiency efforts, the facility saves more than $200,000 per year in energy costs and nearly 10 billion British thermal units, compared to a 2012 baseline.

TE Connectivity first joined DOE’s Better Plants Challenge in 2009 and met its initial energy-reduction goal in 2013. The company then set another goal of reducing energy intensity by 25% by 2022, which was met this past year. The manufacturer has committed 66 U.S.-based facilities, including the Lickdale plant, to the Better Plants Challenge and has hosted more than 100 "treasure hunts" in plants to engage operators and employees in finding energy-efficiency opportunities. Read more in the full news release.

Today, the Department of Energy (DOE) announced that Better Buildings, Better Plants partners have cumulatively saved $6.7 billion in energy costs and more than 1.3 quadrillion British thermal units (BTUs). More than 220 organizations now partner with DOE through Better Plants; DOE welcomed 22 new companies to the program this year. These partners have more than 3,200 facilities and represent roughly 12% of the U.S. manufacturing energy footprint.

Through the Better Buildings, Better Plants partnership, managed by DOE's Office of Energy Efficiency and Renewable Energy, DOE works with partners who have set ambitious energy, water, and/or waste reduction goals. As of 2019, partners have met and exceeded 60 energy goals. All partners share their energy performance data and solutions with other companies, helping to expand innovation and savings throughout the industrial sector. Read more in the 2019 Better Plants Progress Update.

Today, DOE recognized Better Buildings Alliance partner Gundersen Health System at their Sparta Clinic in Wisconsin for impressive portfolio-wide energy-efficiency advances. As part of its Envision Sustainability Program, Gundersen is pursuing energy efficiency through low-energy design standards coupled with renewable energy. Since 2008, Gundersen has saved more than $11 million through energy-efficiency upgrades and Gundersen’s Sparta Clinic uses over 50% less energy than the average clinic.

Sparta Clinic was built with sustainable design features aimed at achieving its energy usage goal of 35 kBtu per square foot. After being open just over a year, the clinic surpassed its energy-savings goal by 9% which resulted in an annual energy savings of more than $68,500. In May 2017, the clinic was certified LEED Gold for Building Design + Construction.

Additional media coverage:

On July 16, DOE recognized Better Buildings Challenge partner University of Virginia (UVA) for impressive energy-efficiency advances made on its campus. UVA is home to more than 40,000 students, faculty, and staff and more than 500 buildings. As a partner in DOE’s Better Buildings Challenge, UVA committed to improving its energy performance by 20% in 10 years across 15.3 million square feet. 

Representatives from DOE visited UVA’s Better Buildings Showcase Project Clark Hall  to tour the building’s energy and water upgrades. UVA implemented a combination of energy and water conservation upgrades, converting all 5,000 interior and exterior fixtures from fluorescent lamps to LED, installing low-flow toilets and faucet aerators, recalibrating air handling units, and upgrading HVAC controls. As a result, Clark Hall achieved an annual energy savings of $750,000, or 65%, along with an annual water savings of $22,000, or 79%, relative to their pre-retrofit baseline.

Additional media coverage: 

On July 10, Energy Secretary Rick Perry kicked off the Better Buildings, Better Plants Summit by recognizing more than 20 Better Buildings, Better Plants Challenge partners and allies who achieved their energy, water, or financial goals for 2019 and five who have recently set new Challenge goals after meeting their initial goals. These goal achievers are part of the hundreds of organizations that work with the U.S. Department of Energy (DOE) in the Better Buildings Initiative and are featured in the annual Better Buildings Progress Report. The Secretary also announced the launch of the Better Buildings, Better Plants Waste Reduction Pilot.

Last year, Better Buildings Initiative partners and allies saved 1.38 quadrillion British thermal units and $8.4 billion in total energy costs. These organizations are leading the U.S. in energy efficiency by adopting emerging technologies, advancing the American workforce, and sharing their innovative approaches to energy and water efficiency.

The U.S. Department of Energy (DOE) today announced the progress made by the more than 900 public- and private-sector organizations leading the U.S. in energy efficiency through their participation in the Office of Energy Efficiency and Renewable Energy's Better Buildings Initiative. Together, Better Buildings partners have saved 1.38 quadrillion British thermal units, equivalent to $8.4 billion in energy and cost savings. These market leaders are adopting emerging technologies, advancing the American workforce, and sharing their innovative approaches to energy and water efficiency. The 2019 Better Buildings Progress Report released today highlights this progress and specific accomplishments in the commercial, industrial, residential, and public sectors to improve energy productivity.

Today, the U.S. Department of Energy (DOE) recognized the energy productivity achievements of Eastman Chemical, a global advanced materials and specialty additives company headquartered in Kingsport, Tennessee. As a partner in DOE’s Better Plants Challenge, Eastman committed to improving its energy performance across all U.S. operations by 20%, from a 2008 baseline, while sharing strategies and results. Eastman has improved its energy productivity by approximately 12% since joining, putting the company more than halfway toward its goal.

"By partnering with companies like Eastman to lower energy costs, the Better Plants program is helping to improve manufacturing competitiveness in the United States,” said Daniel R. Simmons, Assistant Secretary for the Energy Efficiency and Renewable Energy Office at DOE. Simmons visited Eastman’s Kingsport headquarters, the partner’s Showcase Project, and toured the facility. "Seeing first-hand the energy productivity gains that Eastman has accomplished at their Tennessee operations, one of the largest chemical manufacturing sites in North America, it’s clear they have a model for other U.S. manufacturers to follow. Their energy productivity gains help cut costs, create jobs, and drive economic growth."

The U.S. Department of Energy is recognizing eight organizations for their leadership in the Better Buildings Initiative’s Advanced Rooftop Unit (RTU) Campaign. Since the Campaign’s inception in 2013, more than 350 participants have impacted 160,000 rooftop units, saving $110 million and more than 1 billion kWh annually.

The Advanced RTU Campaign provides technical resources and recognition to commercial building owners, managers, and operators that want to increase building performance and upgrade rooftop units to high-efficiency RTU technologies. The Campaign works in close liaison with manufacturers, utilities, energy efficiency organizations, and contractors who contribute to the Campaign’s success. Through the Campaign and other initiatives, DOE supports research and development for new RTU technologies. Although payback periods can vary, a well implemented replacement or retrofit of RTUs with advanced controls can have a payback of one to four years. View the list of winners. 

Today, the U.S. Department of Energy (DOE) and the U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development (HUD) recognized Better Buildings & Better Plants Challenge partners Tenderloin Neighborhood Development Corporation (TNDC) and Mercy Housing for impressive energy efficiency advances made in multifamily buildings. Both partners have completed showcase projects and are on their way to meeting their goals of reducing energy use by 20% portfolio-wide over 10 years. Mercy Housing has 21 million square feet in its portfolio; TNDC has 2.3 million square feet and has also set a 20% water reduction goal.

Representatives from DOE and HUD visited TNDC’s Better Buildings & Better Plants Showcase Project Alexander Residence and Mercy Housing’s Better Buildings & Better Plants Showcase Project 205 Jones Street Apartments to tour the buildings’ energy and water upgrades. Each organization has recently completed major energy and water efficiency improvements to these properties in San Francisco’s Tenderloin neighborhood. As a result, the Alexander Residence expects to achieve an annual energy savings of $20,000 or 17% relative to their pre-retrofit baseline. To date, the first-in-class improvements to 205 Jones Street have achieved annual energy savings of $23,319, a 22% cost savings relative to their pre-retrofit utility expenses.

TNDC and Mercy Housing each implemented a combination of energy and water conservation upgrades in their respective building, including a new solar thermal hot water system, energy-efficient steam boiler, thermostatic radiator valves and pipe insulation, new LED lighting throughout tenant and common areas, low-flow water fixtures, and new ENERGY STAR® refrigerators and washing machines. The interventions have resulted in reduced utility costs for both the housing providers and residents, increased resident comfort, and improved asset financial sustainability, which will help preserve affordability in these locations for the long term.

TNDC and Mercy Housing work to preserve affordable housing and services for low-income families and individuals throughout the Bay Area and the U.S., respectively. TNDC’s Alexander Residence is a 12-story building constructed in 1928 and houses 179 seniors with average annual incomes less than $12,000. Mercy Housing’s 205 Jones Street Apartments was constructed in 1920 and serves residents who earn 50-60% of the area median income.

More than 900 organizations now partner with DOE in Better Buildings & Better Plants and have saved more than $3 billion in energy costs to-date. Through Better Buildings & Better Plants, DOE and HUD partner with leaders in the public and private sectors to make the nation’s homes, commercial buildings, and industrial plants more energy-efficient by accelerating investment and sharing of successful best practices. Greater efficiency saves billions of dollars on energy bills, reduces pollution and greenhouse gas emissions, and creates jobs.

Discover more than 1,500 proven solutions in the Better Buildings & Better Plants Solution Center. View the recap and photos from the event on the Beat Blog. 

Today, the U.S. Department of Energy (DOE) recognized Better Buildings & Better Plants Challenge partner Los Angeles Unified School District (LAUSD) for the energy productivity advances made in its schools. LAUSD set goals of reducing energy and water use by 20% over the next 10 years across its 70 million square feet of building space. LAUSD is the second-largest district in the nation and serves over 660,000 students with a portfolio of 1,200 schools and associated centers. 

DOE visited LAUSD’s Better Buildings & Better Plants Challenge Showcase Project Santee Education Complex to tour the campus’ energy upgrades. The school opened in July 2005 as the first new 4-year high school for the Los Angeles Unified School District in more than 35 years. The 338,000-square-foot educational complex serves over 1,900 students and 145 staff, and operates as one of the highest energy-consuming facilities compared to the district’s average.

To help reach LAUSD’s 20% energy consumption reduction goal by 2024, Santee made upgrades including interior and exterior lighting, an energy management system, efficient domestic water heater and boiler, as well as the installation of occupancy sensors, and retro-commissioning the set points. Santee is on schedule to achieve 30% annual energy savings based on seven months partial post-completion data. As a result of these upgrades, the school expects to achieve a 23%, equal to $195,000, annual cost savings.

Integrating high performance upgrades into the Santee Education Complex, such as lighting upgrades and thermal comfort improvement, also make the school a better place for learning and interaction among students, teachers, and campus staff. The district anticipates positive effects on the health and quality of the learning environment, which is expected to lead to decreased absenteeism and increased productivity.

LAUSD joined DOE’s Better Buildings & Better Plants Challenge in 2016. The district plans to meet its Challenge goals by leveraging some of its current programs, including: Proposition 39 (Clean Energy Jobs Act), lighting replacement and retrofit program, and incorporating new strategies such as demand response which includes battery storage and energy management systems (EMS). LAUSD also serves as an active participant in DOE’s Zero Energy Schools Accelerator.

More than 900 organizations now partner with DOE in Better Buildings & Better Plants and have saved more than $3 billion in energy costs to date. Through Better Buildings & Better Plants, DOE partners with leaders in the public and private sectors to make the nation’s homes, commercial buildings, and industrial plants more energy efficient by accelerating investment and sharing of successful best practices. Greater efficiency saves billions of dollars on energy bills, reduces pollution and greenhouse gas emissions, and creates jobs.

Better Buildings & Better Plants is an initiative of the U.S. Department of Energy designed to improve the lives of the American people by driving leadership in energy innovation. The Better Buildings & Better Plants Challenge is a network of leading businesses, manufacturers, cities, states, universities, and school districts that commit to improving the energy efficiency of their portfolio of buildings by at least 20% over 10 years and share their strategies and results

Discover more than 1,500 proven solutions in the Better Buildings & Better Plants Solution Center.

Today, the U.S. Department of Energy (DOE) recognized Better Buildings Alliance partner REI for the energy productivity advances made in its Arizona distribution center located in Goodyear, Arizona. Supporting 40% of the co-op’s stores and employing more than 200 people, the center has achieved an annual energy savings of 18% and annual cost savings of $170,000 from the baseline in the first two years of operation. The Goodyear distribution center is REI’s Better Buildings & Better Plants Showcase Project.

To meet an ambitious goal to have the facility be net-zero energy consumption, REI installed a 2.2-megawatt solar system which is expected to power the entire facility, bringing REI's overall annual energy savings to 100%. The solar array covers 280,000 square feet of roof space and the city of Goodyear's power station is adjacent to the facility, which helps reduce energy loss through transmission. 

REI has implemented other measures as well. REI installed a non-evaporative cooling system which eliminated the need for cooling towers, saving millions of gallons of water every year. The distribution center put energy efficiency directly in the hands of its employees by adding hyperchairs that give staff the ability to control their own microclimate with individual fans and heating elements. Additional energy and cost savings are expected for 2019 as a result of retro-commissioning work completed in late 2018.

The REI facility is the industry’s first omni-channel 1-touch fulfillment system, which enables one person to process items eight times faster than at a typical distribution center by using robotic shuttles to move products. In partnership with Bonneville Environmental Foundation and The Nature Conservancy of Arizona, REI has supported modernization of irrigation infrastructure to conserve water and enhance flows for recreation and wildlife, protect farmland and limit development and water extraction in sensitive areas, as well as removal of invasive plants to restore river habitat.

REI joined DOE’s Better Buildings Alliance in 2015. Since becoming a partner, REI has actively participated in program events, including webinars, meetings, and working groups to share energy efficiency best practices with peers in the retail sector.  

More than 900 organizations now partner with DOE in Better Buildings & Better Plants and have saved more than $3 billion in energy costs to-date. Through Better Buildings & Better Plants, DOE partners with leaders in the public and private sectors to make the nation’s homes, commercial buildings, and industrial plants more energy-efficient by accelerating investment and sharing of successful best practices. Greater efficiency saves billions of dollars on energy bills, reduces pollution and greenhouse gas emissions, and creates jobs.

Discover more than 1,500 proven solutions in the Better Buildings & Better Plants Solution Center. View photos from this event on the Better Buildings & Better Plants Beat Blog.

Today, the U.S. Department of Energy (DOE) recognized Better Buildings Challenge partner Bullitt County Public Schools (BCPS) for the energy productivity advances made in its Mt. Washington Elementary School. Located in Shepherdsville, Kentucky and serving more than 13,000 students, the school district committed to improving its energy performance by 20% over a 10-year period across its 2 million-square-foot portfolio. The school district is well on its way to achieving this goal and has already reduced energy by 18% from a 2013 baseline.

Director of DOE's Better Buildings Challenge Maria Vargas visited Mt. Washington Elementary School, the district’s Better Buildings Showcase Project, to congratulate the school on its significant energy savings achieved.

 

The U.S. Department of Energy (DOE) launched the Individuals Taking Energy Action in Manufacturing (ITEAM) prize, a competition designed to identify and attract attention to a wide range of ideas and practices that are driving measurable energy savings at U.S. manufacturing plants to stimulate innovation at other facilities. The ITEAM Prize is a means to find individuals who were responsible for creative, specific, and innovative ideas and practices that led to significant, measurable energy savings at their manufacturing facilities; and encourage those individuals to widely share their ideas and practices for the benefit of U.S. manufacturing facilities nationwide.

DOE is dedicating up to $75,000 for these awards, and will select up to five winners in each category of small, medium, and large manufacturers, for a total of up to 15 winners. Each winner will be awarded a cash prize of $5,000. In addition to the cash prize, the winners will be recognized and given an opportunity to present their submissions at the annual Better Buildings & Better Plants Summit and/or the World Energy Engineering Congress or a similar event. Winning ideas and practices will be highlighted on DOE’s Better Buildings & Better Plants Solutions Center website and winners may have an opportunity to participate in webinars and other events to share their ideas and practices with other organizations.

Today DOE announced that Better Buildings, Better Plants Program partners have reported a savings of more than $5.3 billion in cumulative energy costs. This represents approximately 12% of the U.S. manufacturing energy footprint. DOE is recognizing 12 new program partners, as well as 10 partners that have achieved their energy or water savings goal this year, bringing the total number of partners who have achieved their goals to 53. 

More than 200 partners in the Better Plants program are reducing energy costs that increase productivity, create jobs, and strengthen manufacturing competitiveness. Read the full 2018 Better Plants Annual Update report to learn more about the successes and how the Better Plants program plans to boost competitiveness through improvements in energy efficiency.

Today, the U.S. Department of Energy (DOE) recognized 19 Better Buildings & Better Plants Challenge partners who achieved their energy productivity goals for 2018 and 26 partners who have set new Challenge goals after meeting their initial goals. Since the start of this voluntary program, Better Buildings & Better Plants Challenge partners together have saved $3.1 billion in energy-cost savings and 380 trillion British thermal units of energy.

Since the start of the program, more than 65 partners and financial allies have met their energy efficiency, water efficiency and/or financing goals ahead of schedule. Many of these goal achievers have publicly committed to new Challenge goals, demonstrating that continual energy efficiency improvement is possible even after sizable gains have already been made.

DOE recognizes the following partners for achieving the energy, water, and financial goals they set as partners in the Better Buildings & Better Plants Challenge:

  • Anthem, Inc (energy and water) – Indianapolis, Indiana
  • Ascension (energy) – St. Louis, Missouri
  • Bank of America Merrill Lynch (financial) – New York, New York
  • C. F. Martin & Co., Inc. (energy) – Nazareth, Pennsylvania
  • Citi (financial) – New York, New York
  • City of Chicago, Illinois (energy) – Chicago, Illinois
  • Columbia Association (energy) – Columbia, Maryland
  • EDF Renewables (financial) – San Diego, California
  • General Motors (energy) – Detroit, Michigan
  • Jersey City Housing Authority (energy) – Jersey City, New Jersey
  • Legrand (energy) – Hartford, Connecticut
  • Metrus Energy (financial) – San Francisco, California
  • New York City Energy Efficiency Corporation (financial) – New York, New York
  • PACE Equity (financial) – Milwaukee, Wisconsin
  • Shari’s Café & Pies (water) – Beaverton, Oregon
  • Sol Systems (financial) – Washington, D.C.
  • State of North Carolina (energy)
  • Tower Companies (water) – Rockville, Maryland
  • UW Health (energy) – Middleton, Wisconsin

The following partners have met their goals previously and are being recognized today for setting new Challenge goals to achieve even greater energy and/or water efficiency:

  • 3M – 30% reduction in energy intensity by 2025
  • Bank America Merrill Lynch – an additional $3 billion in funding for energy efficiency and renewable energy projects
  • Bentley Mills – 25% reduction in energy intensity by 2024
  • Cardington Yutaka Technologies – 25% reduction in energy intensity by 2029
  • Celanese – 15% reduction in energy intensity by 2020
  • Citi - $2.25 billion in funding committed for energy efficiency and renewable energy projects
  • City of Hillsboro, OR – 20% reduction in energy intensity by 2025
  • City of West Palm Beach, FL – 15% reduction in energy intensity by 2025
  • Enterprise Community Partners - $130 million in funding committed for energy efficiency and renewable energy projects
  • Hannon Armstrong - $1 billion in funding committed for energy efficiency and renewable energy projects
  • HARBEC – 25% reduction in energy intensity by 2025
  • Havertys – 30% reduction in energy intensity by 2019
  • Legrand – 20% reduction in energy intensity by 2025
  • Lennox International – 25% reduction in energy intensity by 2025
  • Metrus Energy - $175 million in funding committed for energy efficiency and renewable energy projects
  • Nissan North America – 15% reduction in energy intensity by 2022
  • River Trails School District 26, IL – 30% reduction in energy intensity by 2026
  • Schneider Electric – 20% reduction in energy intensity by 2028
  • Shorenstein Properties LLC – 40% reduction in energy intensity by 2025
  • TE Connectivity – 25% reduction in energy intensity by 2024
  • Toyota Motor Engineering & Manufacturing North America, Inc. – 20% reduction in energy intensity by 2026
  • United Technologies Corporation (UTC) – 17.5% reduction in energy intensity by 2020
  • University of California, Irvine – 40% reduction in energy intensity by 2020
  • UW Health – 34% reduction in energy intensity by 2027
  • Victor Valley Wastewater Reclamation Authority – 60% reduction in energy intensity by 2025
  • Volvo Group North America – 25% reduction in energy intensity by 2024

DOE aims to make commercial, public, industrial, and residential buildings 20% more energy efficient over the next decade as part of the Better Buildings & Better Plants Initiative. Greater energy efficiency saves billions of dollars, reduces greenhouse gas emissions, and creates U.S. jobs. More than 900 Better Buildings partners are sharing their innovative approaches and successful strategies to accelerate the adoption of energy efficient technologies.

Discover more than 1,500 proven solutions in the Better Buildings & Better Plants Solution Center.