Energize Denver Final Rule is Approved:
ENERGY STAR Benchmarking Required for Commercial Buildings
Greater than 25,000 Square Feet.
Energy benchmarking for commercial buildings greater than 25,000 sf using the Portfolio Manager tool in ENERGY STAR is now required by ordinance and rule in Denver. Training on the new rule is being offered by Denver on March 14 and 22. Felix Flechas, P.E., Managing Member of ECSE will be offering the March 22 class.
Earlier this month Denver announced the training classes. The Denver announcement is below.
Trainings: The new ordinance and how to comply
The first two trainings on the new ordinance and how to comply have now been scheduled. We encourage attendance by all building owners and managers who will need to comply and all energy service companies who anticipate helping clients comply. These trainings will cover:
- What the ordinance is and why the City put it in place.
- How to benchmark using ENERGY STAR Portfolio Manager
- How to set up auto-upload of monthly energy bill data from Xcel Energy to your Portfolio Manager account
- How to submit your benchmarking report to the City
The first two trainings dates are the following. Please RSVP.
Eventbrite registration is at the following links.
https://www.eventbrite.com/e/energize-denver-energy-benchmarking-ordinance-training-tickets-31687499163 for the March 14 session and,
https://www.eventbrite.com/e/energize-denver-energy-benchmarking-ordinance-training-tickets-31852443516 for the March 22 session.
-March 1, 2017
Denver Passes Ordinance to Establish an Energy Efficiency
Program for Commercial and Multifamily Buildings
On December 20, 2016, Denver Mayor Hancock signed and finalized an Ordinance which establishes a new energy benchmarking requirement for commercial and multi-family buildings greater than 25,000 square feet in size. The energy benchmarking ordinance requires annual building energy usage to be benchmarked using ENERGY STAR Portfolio Manager and reported to the City on June 1, 2017 for buildings greater than 50,000 square feet and by June 1, 2018 for buildings greater than 25,000 but less than 50,000 square feet.
The stated purpose of the new ordinance is to establish an Energy Efficiency Program that requires Covered Building owners to benchmark building energy performance, and make such energy performance information publically available in order to raise awareness and drive action.
The Ordinance states that the energy performance information that must be reported to the Department shall include, at a minimum, a Covered Building’s annual energy use intensity, ENERGY STAR Portfolio Manager score if eligible for a score, greenhouse gas emissions, and any other data fields needed to calculate the ENERGY STAR Portfolio Manager score for auditing and verification purposes.
Regulations have not been written yet to implement this new ordinance. It is expected that they will be forthcoming soon. In the meantime buildings greater than 50,000 square feet in size are advised by ECSE to start the benchmarking process early to avoid delays in meeting the June 1, 2017 deadline.
To receive a copy of the Denver Ordinance and an analysis of the Ordinance, please send your request to ECSE@Comcast.net . ECSE is a registered ENERGY STAR Partner and Service provider which has completed hundreds of ENERGY STAR benchmarking audits and which can assist you with complying with the new Denver Ordinance.
-January 8, 2017
