DOE and The Appraisal Foundation have formed a partnership that will help expand access to energy efficiency and building performance information for commercial buildings.

DOE announced a partnership with The Appraisal Foundation that will help expand access to energy efficiency and building performance information for commercial buildings and help American businesses to reduce energy waste.

DOE has awarded nearly $15 million to support eight new research projects to speed up development of efficienct solid-state lighting technologies

Energy Secretary Steven Chu today announced nearly $15 million to support eight new research and development projects that will accelerate the development and deployment of high-efficiency solid-state lighting technologies like LEDs and OLEDs.

The U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development (HUD) has announced its Green Refinance Plus, a program between HUD’s Federal Housing Administration (FHA) and Fannie Mae, to boost energy efficiency in older affordable housing.

California’s San Mateo County has used nearly $110,000 from DOE’s Energy Efficiency and Conservation Block Grant Program to get the word out about financial incentives and rebates for home energy upgrade.

A Boulder, Colorado, company was the first to sign an option agreement under DOE’s new “America’s Next Top Energy Innovator” challenge, Vice President Biden has announced. The company will use a new thin film window tint to help cool buildings.

The Texas Medical Center recently celebrated the completion of a 48-megawatt combined heat and power system. The system, funded in part by the American Recovery and Reinvestment Act, will help save $200 million in energy costs over the next 15 years.

DOE has announced its $25 million commitment to support the U.S.-India Joint Clean Energy Research and Development Center, which will focus on building energy efficiency, second-generation biofuels, and solar energy.

The U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) has given 79 commercial building design projects the Designed to Earn the Energy Star certification in the past year. In total, the projects are estimated to save more than $7 million in annual energy costs.

To encourage school systems to cut expenses through energy efficiency and green building measures, the U.S. Department of Education has launched a Green Ribbon Schools program. The first winners will be announced next year.

The American Institute of Architects named the new Research Support Facility at DOE’s National Renewable Energy Laboratory one of its Top Ten Green Projects for excellence in sustainable design and reduced energy consumption.

Middlebury College seems like a naturally suited location for a U.S. Department of Energy Solar Decathlon 2011 team. It comes as no surprise that two years ago, architectural studies major Addison Godine and three other students created a proposal for the Solar Decathlon competition.

Two of DOE’s national laboratories will join with The Dow
Chemical Company to research ways to improve cool roof
efficiency by more than 50% over existing technologies.

Oak Ridge National Laboratory and Lawrence Berkeley
National Laboratory have joined with Dow Chemical
Company to fund key research that will help develop the next
generation of cool roof technologies in the United States.

Florida International University students knew they had to
come up with something that would effectively function in the
tropical, variable climate of Miami for the U.S. Department of
Energy Solar Decathlon 2011.

Martha Stewart created an empire by inviting Americans into
her home to show how one small improvement could
dramatically transform a room or how tweaking an old recipe
could surprise your palette. Martha Stewart, however, is not
an engineerso why would she take a personal
interest in BetterBuildings, a DOE program to reduce energy
waste in homes and businesses?

In the third annual tally of cities with the most Energy
Star-certified buildings, Los Angeles, California, remained
atop
the
list with 510 buildings. This year’s list was released by the
U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) on March 14.

In honor of the U.S. Department of Energy Solar Decathlon
2011—which challenges 20 collegiate teams to design,
build, and operate solar-powered houses that are
cost-effective, energy-efficient, and attractive—we are
profiling each of the 20 teams participating in the competition.

“Most Wanted” posters identifying bandits and desperadoes
are familiar images to anyone who has ever seen a Western
movie. If they still made those posters, and if they offered
rewards for turning in energy inefficient buildings, the Cedar
Park City Hall would have been one of the meanest outlaws
this side of West Texas.

A team at DOE’s National Renewable Energy Laboratory
(NREL) has developed a suite of energy modeling tools to
help cut down on building energy consumption. The tools are
free to anyone who wants to use them.

DOE has joined with the U.S. Commerce Department’s Office
of Innovation and Entrepreneurship to kickoff the $12 million
i6 Green Challenge, which aims to establish innovative
regional centers for the commercialization of clean
technologies.

DOE has launched two new fellowship programs designed to
attract the best and brightest scientific minds in the United
States to work on advanced renewable energy and energy
efficiency technologies.

DOE joined with the U.S. Commerce Department’s Economic
Development Administration (EDA) and its Office of
Innovation and Entrepreneurship today to announce the
opening of the $12 million i6 Green Challenge.

Although President Obama’s fiscal year (FY) 2012 proposed
budget for the U.S. Department of Agriculture decreased to
$23.9 billion, the budget still invests $6.5 billion to support
renewable and clean energy.

Following his call in his State of the Union for clean energy
advances, President Obama has proposed a “Better Buildings
Initiative” to make commercial buildings 20% more energy
efficient over the next decade.

DOE has joined with the private sector to support
market-based efforts to develop and deploy next-generation
high-efficiency air conditioners for commercial buildings.

DOE announced that it is joining with the private sector to
support market-based efforts to develop and deploy next-
generation high-efficiency air conditioners for commercial
buildings.

More than 300,000 low-income homes have been weatherized
under the American Recovery and Reinvestment Act, DOE has
announced, marking the halfway point of the Administration’s
goal.

The National Council of the Housing Industry and Builder
Magazine have revealed the 2011 edition of “The New
American Home,” which aims to use 42% less energy than a
similar house built to the 2009 International Energy
Conservation Code.

President Obama has signed a bill that temporarily
extends for one year various energy efficiency and renewable
energy incentives. A key portion is Section 1603 of the
American Recovery and Reinvestment Act, which provides
cash assistance to energy producers in place of tax credits.

DOE has announced the first industrial plants in the country
to be certified under the Superior Energy Performance
program, a new market-based industrial energy efficiency
program designed to save money and reduce energy use.

Secretary Steven Chu today announced the completion of a
new cool roof installation on the Department of Energy’s
Headquarters West Building.

DOE has announced that 24 projects are receiving a total of
$21 million in technical assistance to reduce the amount of
energy used in their commercial buildings.

The U.S. Department of Agriculture (USDA) is providing more
than $30 million in loans and grants to 516 recipients for rural
renewable energy and energy efficiency projects.

Vice President Joe Biden has launched DOE’s Home Energy
Score, a pilot program designed to give homeowners reliable
information about their homes’ energy efficiency.

Local and state building code officials have approved a
package of revisions to the commercial section of the 2012
International Energy Conservation Code (IECC) that
represent the largest single-step efficiency increase in the
history of the national, model energy code.

Vice President Biden joined U.S. Department of Energy (DOE)
Secretary Steven Chu today to announce the launch of the
Home Energy Score pilot program. The Home Energy Score will
offer homeowners straightforward, reliable information about
their homes’ energy efficiency.

The U.S. Army has issued two new policy memorandums to
improve its building efficiency and require more light bulbs
that are energy efficient as part of an effort to increase
sustainability.

The U.S. General Services Administration (GSA) is moving
toward requiring LEED Gold certification for all new federal
buildings, as well as major renovations.

The Federal Trade Commission (FTC) has said that its
amended Appliance Labeling Rule requires that televisions
manufactured after May 10, 2011 must display EnergyGuide
labels to help consumer make better choices.

The nonprofit American Council for an Energy-Efficient
Economy (ACEEE) has released its 2010 State Energy
Efficiency Scorecard, showing California and Massachusetts
lead all states while overall efficiency budgets have nearly
doubled since 2007.

Eleven U.S. mayors will share their urban sustainability
practices with European peers at the European Green Capital
Conference on October 20-22 in Stockholm, Sweden.

U.S. households that heat their homes with natural gas will
see an average increase in home heating costs of about 4%
this winter, while those using heating oil will experience a
larger increase, according to the latest projections from
DOE’s Energy Information Administration (EIA).

DOE has bestowed the 2010 Federal Energy and Water
Management Awards upon more than 30 individuals and
groups that implemented renewable energy and water
efficiency projects at federal facilities, saving the federal
government more than $40 million in a single year.

DOE’s Lawrence Berkeley National Laboratory will receive
$12.5 million to lead a consortium on energy-efficient building
technologies under the U.S.-China Clean Energy Research
Center.

Solar power, geothermal energy, building efficiency, green
power, and green roofs are among the topics explored in
national conferences through the end of this year.

In less than one year, the National Mall in Washington, D.C.,
will bustle with activity as 20 student teams prepare their
solar homes for DOE’s fifth Solar Decathlon. The opening
ceremony will be held on September 22, 2011, and the event
will open to the public the following day.

While the Solar Decathlon is still a year away, the National
Solar Tour is now offering open-house tours of solar-powered
homes, businesses, and public agencies. This year, local
tours are available in all 50 states, plus the District of
Columbia, the U.S. Virgin Islands, and Jalisco, Mexico.

DOE, the American Lighting Association, and the Consortium
for Energy Efficiency have announced the winners of the
Lighting for Tomorrow competition. The annual competition
recognizes the best-designed energy-efficient lighting
products for homes.

DOE is proposing a new energy efficiency standard for
residential refrigerators, refrigerator-freezers, and freezers
that would decrease the energy use of these appliances by
20%-25% when it takes effect in January 2014. The agency
is accepting comments on the proposed standard until
November 26.

DOE has taken action to stop Air-Con, International, from
selling certain air conditioning systems in the United States
because they violate the minimum federal energy efficiency
standards for appliances.

U.S. Energy Secretary Steven Chu today announced the release
of a new proposed energy efficiency standard for residential
refrigerators, refrigerator-freezers, and freezers. The
standard, as proposed, could save consumers as much as $18.6
billion over thirty years.

The U.S. Department of Energy, the American Lighting
Association, and the Consortium for Energy Efficiency,
announced the winners of the eighth-annual Lighting for
Tomorrow competition.

DOE announced today that it has taken action against
Air-Con, International, requiring the company to stop
selling certain air conditioning systems in the U.S. that
have been shown to violate minimum energy efficiency
appliance standards.

DOE has selected 33 small businesses to receive $57 million
to develop manufacturing processes for the production of
their new clean energy technologies. DOE will also support
five regional efforts to accelerate the commercialization of
university-developed clean energy technologies.

The American Council for an Energy-Efficient Economy
(ACEEE) has lauded 18 state-led energy efficiency programs
in 14 states for their excellence. The top five award-winning
programs were created in Colorado, Hawaii, Maryland, and
New York, with the Empire State earning awards for two of its
programs.

DOE has selected six new projects to receive Recovery Act
funding as part of its Advanced Research Projects
Agency-Energy. The projects aim to develop innovative
advances in
dehumidifiers, permanent magnets, wind turbines, solar
tracking, solar thermal energy storage, and carbon capture.

DOE is proposing penalties against 27 companies selling
products in the United States without certifying that those
products comply with energy efficiency or water conservation
standards. Unless companies address these claims within 30
days, DOE will file actions to demand payment of the
penalties.

U.S. Secretary of Energy Steven Chu today announced $57
million, including nearly $11 million under the American
Recovery and Reinvestment Act, to support clean energy
technology commercialization projects for 33 small
businesses across the country.

DOE today announced 27 new proposed penalties against
companies selling products in the United States without
certifying that they comply with energy efficiency or water
conservation standards.

Vice President Biden has announced that 200,000 low-income
homes have been weatherized under the American Recovery
and Reinvestment Act, saving families money, conserving
energy, and helping put thousands to work.

DOE has awarded $120 million, including $90 million under
the American Recovery and Reinvestment Act, to support
weatherization projects across the country under DOE’s
Weatherization Program, which completed a record number
of homes in June.

DOE has created a new energy innovation hub led by Penn
State. From the Philadelphia Navy Yard, the new hub will
pioneer energy-efficient building designs.

The U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development
(HUD) has awarded more than $100 million in Recovery Act
funds for energy efficiency upgrades in 100 affordable
housing developments across the United States.

A team led by The Pennsylvania State University will
receive up to $122 million over the next five years from the
U.S. Department of Energy to establish an Energy
Innovation Hub focused on developing technologies to make
buildings more energy efficient.

DOE will award $188 million to small businesses in 34 states
to develop clean energy technologies that can be brought to
the marketplace.

DOE has announced up to $30 million in funding for 15
research partnerships that aim to deliver innovative energy
efficiency strategies to the residential housing market.

During the first Clean Energy Ministerial, which attracted 24
governments, DOE announced that the United States will help
launch 11 international clean energy initiatives, ranging from
increased electric vehicle use to distribution of 10 million
solar LEDs to the world’s poorest.

DOE has announced $30 million in Recovery Act and FY 2010
funds to help small businesses commercialize promising new
technologies. Applications are being accepted in the
technology areas of biomass, buildings, geothermal,
photovoltaics, wind power, vehicle efficiency, and energy
transmission and storage.

DOE is embarking on initiatives to install cool roofs on its
buildings whenever practical and is urging other federal
agencies and commercial entities to do the same. Cool roofs
will reduce energy use, limit carbon pollution, and save
taxpayer money, DOE says.

The size of new single-family homes dropped in 2009,
according to a new report from a housing association, in part
to drive energy costs down. Another survey shows new
homes have steadily become more energy efficient over the
past decades.

The U.S. Department of Energy today announced 15 research
and deployment partnerships to help dramatically improve
the energy efficiency of American homes.

U.S. Department of Energy Secretary Steven Chu today
announced a series of initiatives underway at the Department
of Energy to more broadly implement cool roof technologies
on DOE facilities and buildings across the federal government.

DOE has awarded $92 million for new Advanced Research
Projects AgencyEnergy projects in 18 states that will
accelerate innovation in clean energy technologies, increase
competitiveness, and create U.S. jobs.

U.S. Secretary of Energy Steven Chu announced 43
cutting-edge research projects that aim to dramatically
improve how the U.S. uses and produces energy.

DOE has selected 58 projects to receive more than $76
million in Recovery Act funds to develop advanced
energy-efficiency building technologies as well as
commercial building training programs.

Minnesota, Montana, New Hampshire, New Mexico, and Utah have
weatherized a total of more than 9,000 homes with Recovery
Act funding so far, hitting targets that entitle them to
access all of their Recovery Act funding for DOE’s
Weatherization Assistance Program. Seven other states
already crossed that threshold.

DOE announced awards totaling more than $76 million in
funding from the Recovery Act to support advanced energy-
efficient building technology projects and the development of
training programs for commercial building equipment
technicians, building operators, and energy auditors.

Thirty-four weatherization training centers in 27 states will
receive $29 million in DOE grants under the American
Recovery and Reinvestment Act. The energy efficiency funds
will go toward expanding eight existing training centers and
establishing 26 new ones.

DOE has ordered Aspen Manufacturing, Inc.; Summit
Manufacturing; and Advanced Distributor Products to halt the
distribution of 61 models of heat pumps and one air
conditioner model that do not comply with federal energy
conservation standards.

Stand-alone data centers and buildings that house large data
centers can now earn the Energy Star label if they are in the
top 25% of their peers in terms of energy efficiency. Those
looking to earn that label should check out the best practices
compiled by DOE’s Lawrence Berkeley National Laboratory.

The U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) has joined
with eight Energy Star partner utilities and state energy
efficiency programs located throughout the country in a pilot
program to target commercial building energy efficiency.

Leaders from 15 countries, the European Commission, and
the United States have held the first policy meeting of the
International Partnership for Energy Efficiency Cooperation
(IPEEC). DOE Assistant Secretary Cathy Zoi was picked as
the first policy committee chair.

Assistant Secretary Cathy Zoi of the joined leaders from 15
countries and the European Commission today at the first
Policy Committee meeting of the International Partnership for
Energy Efficiency Cooperation to promote global collaboration
on energy-saving programs and policies.

The U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) is
sponsoring a national energy efficiency contest, featuring 14
commercial buildings from across the country competing to
trim kilowatt-hours. The winner will be announced at EPA’s
final “weigh-in” on October 26.

Vice President Joe Biden has announced the 25 communities
selected for up to $452 million in Recovery Act funds under
DOE’s “Retrofit Ramp-Up.” The funds will leverage an
estimated $2.8 billion from other sources for these pilot
projects.

The American Institute of Architects (AIA) has selected the
top ten green buildings for 2010, citing examples in six states
and two foreign countries of buildings which make the best
use of energy efficiency strategies such as natural
daylighting, shading, and ventilation.

DOE has selected the 20 collegiate teams to compete in the
2011 Solar Decathlon, which will be held on the National Mall
in Washington, D.C. The teams, representing five countries
and four continents, will compete to design and build the
most affordable energy-efficient and solar-powered houses.

DOE and the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA)
have announced changes to the certification process for
Energy Star products. Manufacturers must now submit
complete lab reports to the EPA for its review and approval.

The United States has invested $4 billion in Recovery Act
funds for the energy-efficient construction and renovation of
federal buildings nationwide. The money is being spent on
new construction and upgrades such as high-efficiency
heating and cooling, solar panels, and solar water heaters.

DOE has finalized tougher appliance standards for home
water heaters and other heating products. The new standards
will save consumers up to $10 billion over 30 years and are
part of the $300 billion that will be saved from DOE’s
increased standards on more than 20 types of products.

The U.S. Environmental Protection Agency and the
Department of Energy today jointly announced changes to
the ENERGY STAR product certification process to ensure that
only products meeting the ENERGY STAR requirements can
receive an ENERGY STAR label.

U.S. Department of Energy (DOE) Secretary Steven Chu
announced today that the Department has finalized higher
energy efficiency standards for a key group of heating
appliances that will together save consumers up to $10 billion
and prevent up to 164 million metric tons of carbon dioxide
emissions over 30 years.

DOE is committing $37.5 million in funding over the next five
years to support the U.S.-China Clean Energy Research
Center. The joint initiative will focus initially on building
energy efficiency and clean vehicles, as well as carbon
capture and storage.

DOE issued a subpoena to AeroSys, Inc. on July 23 to obtain
data necessary to determine whether certain AeroSys
commercial air conditioners and heat pumps comply with
relevant DOE energy efficiency standards.

U.S. Department of Energy Secretary Steven Chu announced
the availability of nearly $300 million in funding from the
American Recovery and Reinvestment Act for state-run
rebate programs for consumer purchases of new ENERGY
STAR qualified home appliances.

DOE is providing more than $448 million in Recovery Act
funding to expand weatherization assistance programs in
Alabama, Idaho, Maine, Missouri, New Jersey, Oklahoma,
Rhode Island, Texas, Vermont, Virginia, Washington,
Wisconsin, and Wyoming.

While only 12% of new homes built in the United States in
2007 earned the Energy Star label, the market share
increased to 17% in 2008, according to the U.S.
Environmental Protection Agency. Nearly 940,000 Energy
Star-qualified homes have been built to date.

DOE is offering $3.9 billion in grants to support the
development and demonstration of smart grid technologies,
with the bulk of the money going toward awards of up to $200
million that will enable smart grid functions on the nation’s
power grid as soon as possible.