June 26, 2012: Energy and Commerce Departments Announce New Centers for Building Operations Excellence
WASHINGTON — The U.S. Department of Energy and U.S. Department of Commerce announced selections for three Centers for Building Operations Excellence that will receive a total of $1.3 million to create and deploy programs aimed at training building operators as part of the Better Buildings Initiative. The Better Buildings Initiative is designed to improve the energy efficiency of commercial buildings by 20 percent by 2020, with the potential to reduce the energy bills of American business by approximately $40 billion per year.
“Improving energy efficiency in business and manufacturing is critical for helping American businesses keep costs down and stay competitive in the global economy,” said Secretary of Energy Steven Chu. “The first step is ensuring we have well-trained buildings and facilities operators that know how to boost building performance and keep commercial facilities from wasting energy.”