EPA Introduces Green Competition
WASHINGTON — Fourteen commercial buildings across the county will compete head to head in the U.S. Environmental 
Protection Agency’s first national energy efficiency contest. While trimming kilowatt hours off is their bottom lines, the business will also save money and help fight climate change.
Nearly 200 applicants were received for the EPA’s National Building Competition, and the 14 finalists will be judged on their energy performances from Sept. 1, 2009, to Aug. 31, 2010.
The energy use of each building is monitored with the EPA’s Energy Star online energy measurement and tracking tool, Portfolio Manager. The building that sheds the most energy waste on a percentage basis will be declared the winner on Oct. 26.
“It’s time for buildings to tighten their belts, and we’re happy to help them go on an energy diet,” says Gina McCarthy, EPA assistant administrator for air and radiation. “Cutting energy use will reduce their monthly expenses and their carbon footprint, showing that environmental protection and economic growth can go hand in hand.”
The competition website will provide profiles of each contestant and chronicle their progress as well as feature advice for contestants from the EPA and leading building-efficiency specialists. Each building will also participate in midpoint and final contest “weigh-ins,” and the results will be posted on the website.
EPA National Building Competition contestants:
– 522 Fifth Avenue Building, New York
– 1525 Wilson Boulevard Building, Arlington, Va.
– Crystal River Elementary School, Carbondale, Colo.
– Courtyard by Marriott San Diego Downtown, San Diego
– JCPenney Store 1778, Orange, Calif.
– Maplewood Mall, St. Paul, Minn.
– Memorial Arts Building at the Woodruff Arts Center, Atlanta
– Morrison Residence Hall at UNC Chapel Hill, Chapel Hill, N.C.
– Sears, Glen Burnie, Md.
– Sheraton Austin Hotel, Austin, Texas
– Solon Family Health Center at the Cleveland Clinic, Cleveland
– Tucker Residence Hall at North Carolina State University, Raleigh, N.C.
– Van Holten Primary School, Bridgewater, N.J.
– Virginia Beach Convention Center, Virginia Beach, Va.
For more information, visit www.energystar.gov/buildingcontest.