A new report by the Great Plains Institute shows that ENERGY STAR Certified buildings in Minnesota are on the rise, having grown from 3 buildings in 1999 to 561 buildings as of September 2013. The report highlights school districts and cities that are leading with the most certified buildings, as well as how Minnesota is progressing towards its state goal of 1,000 certified buildings.
What is ENERGY STAR Certification?
The Environmental Protection Agency’s ENERGY STAR Certification is an annual award that provides public recognition for the most energy efficient buildings in the United States. To earn the certification, building owners must first enter basic information about their property and 12 months of energy bill data into Portfolio Manager, a free tool offered by the EPA to track and manage energy use in commercial buildings. For 20 different building types (see the report for a full list), Portfolio Manager will generate a score of 1-100, based on a national database of building performance. Buildings with a score of 75 or higher (which means they perform more efficiently than 75 percent of similar buildings across the country) are eligible to apply for an ENERGY STAR Certification.
Public buildings in Minnesota may obtain an ENERGY STAR Score by using the State’s B3 Benchmarking tool, which measures energy performance using data specific to public buildings in Minnesota. The score received through B3 may be used to apply for ENERGY STAR Certification, eliminating the need to maintain data in both B3 and Portfolio Manager.
Why is it important?
The report shows that buildings with 5 or more annual ENERGY STAR Certifications have had, on average, a higher score in Portfolio Manager at the time of certification than buildings with less than 5 certifications. This supports the notion that “you can’t manage what you don’t measure.” In other words, tracking energy usage with an “energy benchmarking” tool like B3 Benchmarking or Portfolio Manage can help building owners to stay in the loop on their energy usage and related costs.
Average Score of Buildings by Number of Certifications:
Communities Stand Out
Of the 561 buildings in Minnesota that have earned at least one ENERGY STAR Certification, 155 are K-12 school buildings. Among these, 16 are owned by Rosemount – Apply Valley – Eagan Public Schools, 10 are owned by Bloomington Public Schools, and 9 are owned by Minnetonka Public Schools.
Several cities also stand out with multiple certified buildings*, including Minneapolis with 58, Bloomington with 36, and Saint Paul with 27. Edina has the most certified buildings per capita, with 4.4 certified buildings per 10,000 people.
Minnesota Cities with the Most Certified Buildings:
Click here to download the full report and see a map of all ENERGY STAR Certified buildings in Minnesota, as of September 2013.
*Numbers show all buildings within the city that have received an ENERGY STAR Certification, not just city-owned buildings.
