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Denver ranks seventh in nation in energy-efficient buildings

Release Date: 03/03/2009
Contact Information: Patty Crow, 303 312-6464; Richard Mylott 303 312-6654

EPA welcomes 166 Colorado buildings to Energy Star program

(Denver, Colo. – March 3, 2009) Denver ranks seventh on a list of U.S. metropolitan areas with the largest number of buildings earning EPA’s Energy Star in 2008. The top ten list also includes Los Angeles, San Francisco, Houston, Washington, D.C., Dallas-Fort Worth, Chicago, Minneapolis-St Paul, Atlanta and Seattle. Energy Star buildings typically use 35 percent less energy and emit 35 percent less greenhouse gases than average buildings.

"We continue to see a big push in Colorado to use energy-efficiency investments as a way to reduce operating costs and strengthen property values," said Patty Crow of EPA's Region 8 Energy Star program. "These Energy Star buildings are environmental all-stars -- their performance benefits regional air quality and reduces greenhouse gas emissions."

Colorado added 166 buildings to the Energy Star program in 2008, with 109 in the Denver area. The state now ranks fifth in total number of Energy Star-qualified buildings, with 267. The conservation measures these facilities are taking save more than $40 million per year in energy costs and prevent more than 413,000 metric tons of greenhouse gases.

Colorado's 2008 Energy Star buildings roster includes EPA's regional headquarters in Lower Downtown Denver. Energy efficiency features in the building include under-floor air delivery system, an efficient HVAC and heat recovery system, photovoltaic panels and a green roof. For more, visit:http://www.energystar.gov/index.cfm?fuseaction=labeled_buildings.showProfile&profile_id=1006713

In 2008, more than 3,300 commercial buildings and manufacturing plants nationwide earned the Energy Star - EPA’s label for high efficiency - representing savings of more than $1 billion in utility bills and more than 7 million metric tons of carbon dioxide emissions. These buildings include schools, hospitals, office buildings, courthouses, grocery stores, retail centers and auto assembly plants.

The total for Energy Star qualifying buildings and plants in America is now more than 6,200. Cumulatively, annual utility savings from these facilities are more than $1.7 billion. The amount of greenhouse gas emissions prevented is equivalent to those of more than 2 million cars a year.

Energy use in commercial buildings and manufacturing plants accounts for nearly half of total U.S. greenhouse gas emissions and nearly half of energy consumption nationwide. For more than a decade, EPA has worked with businesses and organizations to reduce greenhouse gas emissions through this voluntary, market-based partnership to reduce greenhouse gas emissions through energy efficiency.

To view a list of Energy Star buildings and plants, including those in the 2008 Top 25 Cities: http://energystar.gov/buildinglist

To learn more about the Energy Star for buildings and plants:
http://energystar.gov/labeledbuildings