Rebuild America (Climate Plan Action I) Rebuild America This action is part of DOE's Commercial Buildings Program. In the year 2010, this broader program is expected to generate: ☐ Energy cost savings of $2.8 billion ■ Energy savings of 0.42 quads ■ Carbon-equivalent savings of 8.8 MMT By accelerating cost-effective, energy-efficient investments in public housing, and in commercial and multifamily buildings, Rebuild America partnerships are expected to cut energy bills significantly, create local jobs, improve environmental quality, and provide more comfortable indoor environments that enhance the quality of life and worker productivity. For example, in the year 2000, Rebuild America partnerships plan to retrofit 2 billion square feet of commercial and housing floor space. This would put $3 billion into local economies and create $650 million in annual energy savings for building owners and occupants in the near future. Partnerships are based on local needs and priorities, which provides community leaders a high level of flexibility in designing their Rebuild America programs. Any assembly of companies and organizations that commit to a community focus may form Rebuild America partnerships. Partners receive a customized set of products and services designed to meet their community's special needs as well as national recognition for innovative approaches to community-wide programs. A Rebuild America program representative works with the partners' team to ensure that timely and effective assistance is provided. Achievements As of March, 1997, Rebuild America is working with over 120 communities representing 38 states and territones. Rebuild Boston is incorporating water and energy efficiency into community enterprise zones. · Kansas City Energy Efficiency Partnership is improving energy efficiency in schools and nonprofits over the bistate, five-county metropolitan area. ■Re-energize East Bay is dramatically increasing the penetration of energy-efficiency technologies into the often overlooked small commercial market in the San Francisco Bay area. ■Rebuild Colorado is increasing the energy efficiency of the state's commercial and government buildings through performance contracting. During the December 1996 Rebuild America Fall Forum, partners were enthusiastic about their achievements and about the success of the program in general. For example, through the Tennessee Department of Economic and Community Development, Rebuild Tennessee is targeting communities with 17,000 people or fewer-particularly small businesses-to achieve an estimated 30 percent energy cost savings per building retrofitted. Contact: Energy Efficiency and Renewable Energy Customer Service Center, 1-800-363-3732 (Domestic) or 701-287-8191 (International) The Climate Change Action Plan expanded the Green Lights program. In the year 2010, the full Green Lights and ENERGY STAR Buildings programs are expected to generate: ■ Energy cost savings of $11.3 billion ■Energy savings of 1.5 quads ■Carbon-equivalent savings of 23.9 MMT EPA's Green Lights® and ENERGY STAR® Buildings programs are designed to improve the energy efficiency of commercial and industrial buildings. These buildings account for over 15 percent of all U.S. energy consumption, contributing significantly to greenhouse gas emissions and other air pollution. This pollution can be reduced through energy-efficiency investments that also reduce energy bills. Green Lights Through the voluntary Green Lights program, EPA overcomes informational and other barriers preventing energy-efficiency investments. Green Lights partners are reducing their lighting energy consumption through cost-effective, energy-efficient lighting technologies. On average, investments in these technologies cut electricity consumption in half and provide a 35 percent rate of return due to the significant energy bill savings. EPA provides technical information and support and environmental recognition to participants who adopt these voluntary and profitable energy-efficiency measures. Because lighting accounts for 35 percent of total electricity consumption in buildings, Green Lights has a substantial overall impact on U.S. energy consumption and greenhouse gas emissions. ENERGY STAR Buildings Expanding on the successful Green Lights program, EPA works with individual building owners, developers, and others through its voluntary ENERGY STAR Buildings program to encourage more comprehensive building upgrades. This program leads a building owner through a five-stage strategy to capitalize on system interactions that maximize energy savings at minimum cost. Green Lights is the first step of this strategy EPA has successfully completed the ENERGY STAR Showcase Buildings program, in which charter partners demonstrated an average building-wide energy savings of 30 percent. Achievements The Green Lights and Energy StAR Buildings programs currently have over 2,300 participants, including small and large businesses, universities, and state and local governments. ■ Partners have already invested $1 billion on energy-efficiency improvements, with commitments for much larger investments in the near future. ■ Partners are saving over $300 million a year on their energy bills. Partners are preventing 700,000 metric tons of carbon-equivalent pollution annually, equivalent to elimi nating the emissions from over 500,000 cars. Contacts: EPA's ENERGY STAR Hotline, 1-888-792-7937 (Domestic) or 202-775-6650 (International) This action is part of DOE's Lighting and Appliance Research and Development Program. In the year 2010, this broader program is expected to generate: ■ Energy cost savings of $3.1 billion • Energy savings of 0.44 quads ■ Carbon-equivalent savings of 9.3 MMT DOE has longstanding experience working in collaboration with appliance and equipment manufacturers and distributors to promote the development of innovative, energy-conserving building equipment. Performance testing and new-product evaluation in commercial buildings are two of several areas enhanced through cost-shared demonstrations. DOE's cost-shared demonstration programs seek to achieve benefits primarily through reduced energy consumption for building appliances and HVAC (heating, ventilating, and cooling) systems. By organizing projects that bring together manufacturers and prospective purchasers to test and evaluate prototype equipment, DOE expects to reduce the market risk perceived by the developer of new technology and provide users the opportunity to influence final design decisions. The result is greater investment in new, energy-efficient products, more rapid introduction of those products to the marketplace, and fewer failures of commercial introductions. To achieve continuity and better coordination in its demonstrations, DOE has formed partnerships with groups of industrial and commercial firms having the potential to put emerging technologies to use. These Technology Partnerships include a consortium of hotel/motel chains and the National Association of Energy Service Companies. Achievements a Through a consortium of the hotel/motel industry, representing over 30 percent of U.S. hotel space, DOE and Red Lion Inn hotels demonstrated a new energy-saving system for large central laundries that allows reuse of hot laundry wash water. ■DOE and the U.S. Postal Service have embarked on a major demonstration of sulfur lamps, to introduce this technology to other similar facilities. Aircraft hanger lighting demonstrations are planned for Hill Air Force Base. ■ Successful demonstrations of the "horizontal-axis” clothes-washing machines have prompted DOE and Maytag to demonstrate the water and energy savings of this beneficial technology to a small town that has severe water problems. Under a cooperative research and development agreement with Maytag and Oak Ridge National Laboratory, Maytag will replace washers in 90 homes throughout Bern, Kansas. To promote the environmental benefits of this technology in areas with severe water problems, DOE received co-funding from the Bureau of Reclamation that will be used to compare the energy and water consumption of the existing and new washers. ■ DOE and the National Association of Energy Service Companies are improving the effectiveness of perfor mance contracting as a means of introducing energy-efficient technology to the commercial sector. Contact: Energy Efficiency and Renewable Energy Customer Service Center, 1-800-363-3732 (Domestic) or 703-297-8391 (International) Operation, Maintenance and (Climate Plan Action 5) RENEWALT This initiative is part of DOE's Best Practices Program. In the year 2010, this broader program is expected to generate: ■ Energy cost savings of $1.2 billion Energy savings of 0.19 quads ■ Carbon-equivalent savings of 3.9 MMT of DOE will use training programs and the educational infrastructure of the trades in its work to develop an operation and maintenance training curriculum highlighting energy. Once in place, training will be available to new and experienced operators to assist in maintaining knowledge about energy-efficiency improvements for a highly transitory career field. DOE also draws upon the experience of the Federal Energy Management Program, that of state energy offices, low-income weatherization providers, utilities, and other successful programs currently underway, such as Rebuild America. Achievements ■ Surveyed existing programs and the successes and measures that have been used to evaluate training program effectiveness. Contact: Energy Efficiency and Renewable Energy Customer Service Center, 1-800-363-3732 (Domestic) or 703-287-8391 (International). |