Secretary of Energy Bill Richardson announced that the federal government has reduced energy use in its buildings by 20% since 1985. This accomplishment, which saved over $2 billion in energy bills in 1999 alone, is one year ahead of the schedule required by the Energy Policy Act of 1992.

Department of Energy-led efforts to reduce energy use have saved over $19 billion in federal building energy costs since 1985.

Richardson added that saving energy also provides a cleaner environment. “Greenhouse gas emissions from federal buildings have been reduced by almost 2.4 million metric tons since 1985 — equivalent to removing 1.7 million automobiles from the road for an entire year.”