The U.S. Dept. of Energy will spend $9 million to encourage investments in energy-saving technologies that can be tested and deployed in offices, shops, restaurants, hospitals, hotels and other types of commercial buildings.
The funding will facilitate the implementation of market-ready solutions across the U.S. to improve commercial building energy efficiency, with a goal of demonstrating 20% savings or more across a variety of approaches, the department says. Examples include:
• Green leases that help building owners and lessees save money.
• Better information for better decisions: Use Department-developed energy modeling software to better identify and predict a building’s energy performance.
• Assist lenders in obtaining better access to data and information resources that demonstrate the cost-effectiveness of investing in energy efficiency projects.
This funding opportunity seeks to support 5-10 projects. Organizations are encouraged to partner on applications to enhance the overall deployment impact through channels, market orientation, and strategic relationships.
The department is interested in proposals that will impact a significant geographic area and commercial buildings market sector, affect a minimum of 100 buildings, achieve at least 20% energy savings over 10 years, train workers, create jobs, and result in programs that will be self-sustaining after the funding period expires.
Related Stories
Smart Buildings | Jul 27, 2015
Perkins+Will imagines new opportunity for Atlantic City
The architecture giant believes it has a solution that could put Atlantic City’s existing infrastructure to good use—by turning the Jersey Shore city into a research center for climate change and coastal resiliency.
Green | Jul 27, 2015
MUST SEE: Dutch company to test using plastic waste for road construction
KWS Infra is piloting a program to make roads from plastic garbage, including bags and bottles extracted from the ocean.
Smart Buildings | Jul 12, 2015
Office of Management and Budget asks agencies to consider climate change when budgeting for construction projects
For the first time, the U.S. Office of Management and Budget is asking agencies to submit budget plans that consider the effects of climate change on construction and maintenance of federal facilities.
Smart Buildings | Jul 9, 2015
St. Petersburg Pier’s dramatic makeover gets green light from city officials
The Pier Park will be a platform for a multitude of smaller and more flexible programs and experiences for tourists and the local community.
BIM and Information Technology | Jul 1, 2015
World’s first fully 3D-printed office to be produced in Dubai
A 20-foot-tall printer will be needed for the project, spewing out construction material consisting of special reinforced concrete, fiber reinforced plastic, and glass fiber reinforced gypsum.
Smart Buildings | Jun 28, 2015
Why does an American city of 400,000 feel more compact than a European city of 2.4 million?
HDR’s Jim Thomson brings home some insights from a recent trip to Paris.
BIM and Information Technology | Jun 23, 2015
A steel bridge in Amsterdam will be 3D printed
To complete the bridge, multi-axis industrial robots will be fitted with 3D printing tools and controlled using custom software that enables the robots to print metals, plastics, and combinations of materials.
Smart Buildings | Jun 16, 2015
Former Studebaker plant to become mixed-use tech hub in South Bend, Ind.
Once the nation’s fourth largest automobile manufacturer, employing as many as 23,000 people in South Bend, the Studebaker campus closed in 1963.
Smart Buildings | Jun 15, 2015
NIST releases guide for community resilience planning
The guide lays out a six-step process that starts with the formation of a resilience team drawn from the community and culminates with the development and implementation of resilience strategies that are updated regularly.
BIM and Information Technology | Jun 14, 2015
Deep data: How greater intelligence can lead to better buildings
The buzzword may be “Big Data,” but the reality is that Building Teams need to burrow deep into those huge datasets in the course of designing and building new facilities. Much of the information is free. You just need to dig for it.
