Buildings comprise around 40 percent of the total energy consumption in the United States, and benchmarking policies have proven to be a crucial first step to achieving energy savings.

The Evanston City Council is currently considering a water and energy benchmarking ordinance to better track and reduce energy waste and costs for its residents. The proposed ordinance has been in development since March 2015, and the council is expected to vote on the ordinance at its Monday, December 12 meeting.

The Georgetown University Energy Prize (GUEP), currently in its second round, includes a total of 50 cities and counties competing to “change the way America uses energy.” Each city or county has already developed a long-term energy efficiency plan. Now they are implementing their plan’s initial effectiveness/sustainability over a two-year period. The competition provides a unique platform bringing together residents, government leaders and utilities into competing communities – united in the goal of improving their energy efficiency.

MEEA held its 6^th Annual Midwest Energy Data and Building Codes Conference in Minneapolis, MN from November 3 -5, 2015. The event was a success with over 110 professionals from various sectors in the building community in attendance throughout the two and a half day conference. Attendees included professionals from federal, state and local energy offices, federal laboratories, utilities, consulting agencies, construction companies, and code enforcement agencies. Throughout the conference, attendees had an opportunity to learn from energy data and code experts, network and share ideas with colleagues, enjoy Minneapolis establishments and the unseasonably warm weather!

MEEA successfully gave a workshop style presentation on energy data acquisition at the Affordable Energy Association’s 2015 Multifamily Buildings Conference in Brooklyn, NY on October 28-30, 2015. Together with Ellen M. Sargent, Chicago Housing Authority; and Ryan Snow, USGBC National; Steve Kismohr from MEEA brought concepts and related activities on how to engage Building Asset Managers to acquire base building information and manage energy use.

Last month, select MEEA staff members participated in the U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development Regional Multi-Family Convening Meeting in Chicago. The event presented multiple aspects for multi-family buildings to save energy and participate in the U.S. Department of Energy’s Better Buildings Challenge. Stacey Paradis, Executive Director, was also the keynote presenter for the event. Ms. Paradis gave a speech outlining the investments, current standards and challenges within the energy efficiency industry related to multi-family housing.

On June 4, 2015, Kansas City, Missouri became the 14th municipality in the U.S. and third in the Midwest to successfully pass an ordinance which engages building owners to improve their energy management practices. Congratulations to KCMO!

The USGBC West Michigan Chapter hosted the Earth Day Energy Summit and awards ceremony for participants in the 2014 Battle of the Buildings contest. This EPA-derived challenge is a friendly competition where commercial building owners and operators strive to reduce their carbon footprint through implementing energy reduction measures. The program has completed a successful first year, already launched the second year and is planning a third. Considering this success, the contest has expanded beyond the Western Michigan region to encompass the entire state.

The ACEEE Market Transformation National Symposium brought over 350 energy professionals together in Washington, D.C. in April to cover diverse and emerging topics within the scope of market transformation. With two new cities adopting benchmarking ordinances last week, ACEEE held a timely panel on future uses of benchmarking data and data integrity.

On April 21, 2015, the House of Representatives passed S.535, which establishes three separate programs to bolster energy efficiency measures in commercial, residential and/or mixed use buildings. This follows the Senate’s unanimous passage of this bill on March 27, 2015.  The President is expected to sign the bill into law in the coming weeks.

The Missouri Department of Economic Development, Columbia Water and Light, and the University of Missouri hosted the annual Advancing Renewables in the Midwest conference on April 6-7, 2015. In its tenth year, the conference continues to promote discussion on energy efficiency and renewable energy programs, policies and projects in the Midwest. This year, the conference included presentations on electric vehicles, community solar, Missouri’s potential for biomass, and the successful implementation of energy efficiency programs and policies.