WASHINGTON — U.S. Department of Energy (DOE) Secretary Ernest Moniz recently announced that 12 partners in the DOE’s Better Buildings, Better Plants program have met their energy or water savings goals this year, and 30 new partners have joined the program, representing significant growth for the program to accelerate progress in energy and water savings. Since President Barack Obama launched the Better Buildings, Better Plants program five years ago, partners have saved more than $3 billion in cumulative energy costs.

The Better Buildings, Better Plants Program is part of the broader Better Buildings Initiative, launched in 2011. The goal of the Better Buildings program is to make commercial, public, industrial, and residential buildings 20 percent more energy efficient 10 years from when partners join the program.

With these new members, Better Plants partners now represent more than 11 percent of the manufacturing sector’s total energy footprint, with more than 2,500 facilities across the U.S. So far, partners have reported cumulative energy savings of 600 trillion Btu and nearly 35 million metric tons of avoided climate-changing carbon emissions.

“This hugely successful program involves thousands of facilities and has helped them avoid millions of metric tons of carbon emissions and save billions of dollars in energy costs. The progress that our Better Plants partners have made throughout the Obama administration indicates that American companies are committed to reducing the energy footprint of their operations,” said Ernest Moniz, energy secretary. “That commitment is essential for America to continue making important strides toward a low-carbon future.”

American industries annually spend approximately $200 billion on energy costs. As part of the Obama administration’s efforts to double U.S. energy productivity by 2030, close to 180 manufacturers and water and wastewater treatment agencies have now made voluntary commitments to improve their energy intensity by 25 percent in 10 years.

Publication date: 11/28/2016 

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