Aug 8 2005
The Northwest Energy Efficiency Alliance announced on July 27th that it will spend $18.6 million over the next three years to promote energy efficiency in commercial buildings.
The Commercial Sector Initiative, better known as BetterBricks, is expected to cut energy demand in the Northwest by 31 megawatts by 2015. The initiative will work with building owners and managers to encourage them to ask for energy-efficient, high-performance building practices in their new and existing buildings. Building types to be targeted under the effort include hospitals and other health care facilities, grocery stores, and commercial real estate such as office buildings. See the Alliance's press release, a related fact sheet, and the BetterBricks Web site.
The Northwest Energy Efficiency Alliance is a non-profit corporation supported by the Bonneville Power Administration, electric utilities, public benefits administrators, consumer interest groups and efficiency industry representatives. According to the Alliance's 2004 Annual Report, released in July, projects supported by the Alliance and related efforts cut energy demand in the region by 35 megawatts last year. One indicator of the Alliance's success: consumers in the Northwest bought more than 5 million compact fluorescent lamps in 2004, up from 3.8 million in 2003.
See the annual report (PDF 475 KB).