DOE and EPA Recognize Energy Star Leaders at Award Ceremonies

March 16, 2005

DOE and the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) honored 50 businesses and organizations with Energy Star Awards on March 15th. The 50 award winners have saved consumers $10 billion in energy costs over the past year alone. The award winners include Lowes Companies Inc., Food Lion, Pardee Homes, USAA Real Estate, and 3M. See the press releases from DOE and the EPA.

On March 9th, DOE and the EPA presented Energy Star CHP Awards and Certificates of Recognition to six organizations for their exemplary combined heat and power (CHP) projects. Weyerhaeuser's containerboard mill in Albany, Oregon, earned the Energy Star CHP Award for its 93-megawatt CHP system fueled with biomass and natural gas. The system operates at 70 percent efficiency, requiring 17 percent less fuel than a typical mill, which generates its thermal energy needs onsite but draws its electricity from the power grid. In addition, the California Institute of Technology won an award for a 12.5-megawatt gas-fired CHP system that is more than 70 percent efficient. See the EPA press release and find details about the winners on the EPA Combined Heat and Power Partnership Web site.

On March 14th, the EPA recognized 13 Energy Star "Leaders": companies, school districts, and healthcare organizations that have measured the energy efficiency of all their buildings and achieved energy efficiency improvements of approximately 10 or 20 percent, or achieved overall top performance. The EPA also joined with more than 20 leading associations, states, and businesses to announce the Energy Star Challenge, which calls on owners of commercial and institutional buildings to improve the efficiency of their buildings by 10 percent or more. According to recent reports, nearly 2,000 commercial and institutional buildings in the United States have earned the Energy Star label, and nearly 10 percent of new homes built in 2004 earned the Energy Star label. Since 1995, more than 360,000 new U.S. homes have earned the Energy Star, saving homeowners an estimated $200 million in energy costs. Overall, 64 percent of U.S. households are now aware of the Energy Star, and nearly half of those households purchased an Energy Star product in the past year. See all the recent Energy Star press releases and reports on the Energy Star News Room Web page.