Design

The US Department of Energy has announced awards totalling $15 million to encourage the adoption of energy efficient technologies in the retailing, banking and commercial real estate sectors.

Twenty-one companies will benefit from the ‘Net-Zero Energy Commercial Building Initiative (CBI), and will team up with the DOE’s Pacific Northwest National Laboratory (PNNL) and National Renewable Energy Laboratory (NREL) to design, build, commission and develop at least one energy-efficient prototype building.

Compared with similar new commercial buildings that meet the minimum standards set by the American Society of Heating, Refrigerating and Air-Conditioning Engineers (ASHRAE), the prototype buildings will consume 50% less energy. The National Laboratories will also work with each company to retrofit an existing building to achieve a 30% reduction in energy usage when compared with national minimum standards for refurbished buildings. The projects will use on-site renewable energy generation and cutting-edge efficiency technologies to make the energy savings.

Companies benefiting from the awards include some of the America’s biggest names, including Macy’s, JC Penney, Toyota, John Deere and Bank of America.

In 2007, commercial buildings consumed about 19 percent of U.S. energy and accounted for 18 percent of US greenhouse gas emissions.

For further information:
www.energy.gov/news/6577.htm