Obama Administration Launches Energy Efficient Buildings Research Center

On February 12th, the Obama Administration announced a multi-agency initiative to spur regional economic growth while making buildings more energy efficient.  Seven federal agencies, including the Dept. of Energy, Dept. of Labor and the Small Business Administration, issued a combined Funding Opportunity Announcement of nearly $130 million over five years to create a regional research center that will develop new building efficiency technologies and work with local partners to implement the technologies in area buildings. Since buildings account for nearly 40 percent of U.S. energy consumption, energy efficiency improvements in buildings can provide significant benefits not only to the building owners through lower utility bills, but the entire country through decreased carbon emissions.

"Energy efficient buildings represent one of our best and most immediate opportunities to create jobs, save money and cut carbon pollution." - U.S. Secretary of Energy Steven Chu.

The research center will be based at a university, DOE national laboratory, nonprofit organization, or private firm in what the release calls an Energy Regional Innovation Cluster (E-RIC) that is centered around an Energy Innovation Hub.  The center is expected to partner closely with local or state government officials and leverage the expertise of local architects, builders, and manufacturers. For more details, view the full release on the DOE web site.