The Boulder (CO) City Council approved an ordinance this week requiring commercial and industrial property owners to rate and report the energy efficiency of their buildings, according to The Daily Camera. The owners also must disclose those ratings beginning in two years.
The ordinance requires one-time lighting upgrades and, every ten years, energy-efficiency improvements with a one-year return on investment for commercial and industrial properties and two year ROI for big industrial campuses, the story says. The goal is to make energy efficiency a selling point and encourage owners to make upgrades.
The ordinance is aimed at commercial and industrial buildings larger than 20,000 square feet, city-owned buildings larger than 5,000 square-feet and commercial buildings larger than 10,000 square-feet, the story says. The requirements will be phased in between next year and 2020.
Municipalities have deep involvement in energy efficiency efforts. For instance, last month the City Council of South Portland, ME began construction of a solid waste transfer station. That project is part of a long-term $15.7 million energy efficiency initiative.
