Charlotte region nudges upward on Energy Star list

A news release from Charlotte Mayor Anthony Foxx’s office today says the Charlotte metro region has moved from 17th to 14th for the number of Energy Star-certified buildings. Click here for a link to the list of the top 25 metro regions. The Charlotte-Gastonia-Rock Hill metro area (Anson, Cabarrus, Gaston, Mecklenburg, Union and York counties) has 133 Energy Star-certified buildings, according to the news release. It's tied with Minneapolis-St. Paul.

Note, the Energy Star certification is not the same as LEED certification. The registry for LEED (Leadership in Environmental and Energy Design) shows 87 LEED-certified projects in Charlotte. Click here for the list, which can be filtered according to state and city. Note, some buildings are counted as several different projects.

Here's the news release from Foxx's office:

CHARLOTTE RANKS 14^TH ON EPA’S 2012 LIST OF CITIES WITH THE MOST ENERGY STAR CERTIFIED BUILDINGS

Charlotte, NC — In its annual list of U.S. metropolitan areas with the most Energy Star certified buildings released today, the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) ranked Charlotte 14^th in the nation in 2012—up from 17^th in 2011.  According to the report, the Charlotte-Gastonia-Rock Hill metro area has 133 Energy Star certified buildings that are saving more than $15.2 million annually in energy costs and cutting greenhouse gas emissions equal to emissions from the annual electricity use of nearly 11,000 homes.

“It’s an honor to be recognized by the EPA as one of the country’s top cities in energy efficiency,” said Charlotte Mayor Anthony Foxx.  “This recognition is a testament to the ongoing efforts of our building managers and our entire community to make the Charlotte region an international energy leader.  Together, we will continue to work to lower our energy use to save businesses and consumers money, and protect our environment.”

Charlotte has undertaken several efforts to promote energy efficiency.  The city is the first in the world to endeavor to reduce the carbon footprint of its central business district through Envision Charlotte, a unique public-private partnership between the city, corporate leaders, and Center City building managers.  The Power2Charlotte initiative brings together 17 energy and energy efficiency projects that focus on both internal city operations and community-wide projects to save energy and create jobs.   

Energy use in commercial buildings accounts for 17 percent of U.S. greenhouse gas emissions at a cost of more than $100 billion per year. Commercial buildings that earn EPA’s Energy Star must perform in the top 25 percent of similar buildings nationwide, as verified by a Professional Engineer or a Registered Architect. Energy Star certified buildings use an average of 35 percent less energy and are responsible for 35 percent fewer greenhouse gas emissions than typical buildings. Fifteen types of commercial buildings can earn the Energy Star, including office buildings, K-12 schools, and retail stores.

Launched in 1992 by EPA, Energy Star is a market-based partnership to reduce greenhouse gas emissions through energy efficiency. Over the past 20 years, with help from Energy Star, American families and businesses have saved about $230 billion on utility bills and prevented more than 1.7 billion metric tons of greenhouse gas emissions. Today, the Energy Star label can be found on more than 65 different kinds of products, more than 1.3 million new homes, and more than 20,000 buildings and plants.

See the full list of top cities: http://energystar.gov/topcities

Download the full list of Energy Star certified buildings: http://1.usa.gov/Y8QkQo

Take an in-depth look at the data behind Energy Star certified buildings: http://energystar.gov/datatrends

More about earning the Energy Star for commercial buildings: http://energystar.gov/labeledbuildings