WASHINGTON – U.S. Secretary of Energy Samuel W. Bodman today accepted a plaque from the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) certifying the Department of Energy’s (DOE) James Forrestal Headquarters Building as an ENERGY STAR® building.  The Forrestal building uses 40 percent less energy than the average office building, saving taxpayers thousands of dollars in energy bills, and preventing the release of 28 million pounds of carbon dioxide emissions each year.

“The U.S. Department of Energy is committed to reducing our energy consumption and using more energy efficient technologies – everything from energy efficient compact fluorescent light bulbs (CFLs) to driving alternative fuel vehicles,” Secretary Bodman said. “It is only fitting that the Nation’s leading researcher on renewable energy and energy efficiency technology is also a leader in putting these vital technologies to use.  With today's designation, the Department is once again leading by example.”

Commercial buildings earning the ENERGY STAR® designation must demonstrate low utility usage in electricity, gas and steam; have good indoor air quality; and good indoor temperature.  The energy performance of commercial buildings is scored on a 1-100 scale and those facilities that achieve a score of 75 or higher are eligible for the ENERGY STAR® designation, indicating that they are among the top 25% of facilities in the country for energy performance. DOE’s Forrestal building located in Washington, D.C. received a score of 88.

The Forrestal building is now one of only two federally-owned and operated office buildings in Washington, D.C. to have earned the ENERGY STAR® distinction and joins DOE’s other headquarters facility in Germantown, Md. earned the ENERGY STAR® certification in 2002.

DOE has made the following energy-savings improvements to the Forrestal building:

• Installed energy efficient motors in the building’s air handling equipment;
• Replaced chilled-water and hot-water pumps with high-efficiency units;
• Consolidated local area network rooms into central computer areas, thereby reducing computer equipment air-conditioning requirements;
• Installed and optimized automated heating, ventilation and air conditioning control systems for better indoor temperature control; and,
• Installed energy efficient lighting such as low-watt fluorescent lamps, compact fluorescents, and LED lights to update lighting in many areas across the building including: all office spaces, the cafeteria, the main lobby, elevator cars, janitorial closets, emergency exit signs, and outdoor lighting.

The federal government is the largest single user of energy in the United States, and DOE is the second largest energy consumer of all civilian federal agencies.  In August 2007, Secretary Bodman launched the Transformational Energy Action Management (TEAM) Initiative, a Department-wide effort aimed at reducing energy intensity across the nationwide DOE complex by 30 percent.  The TEAM Initiative aims to meet or exceed the aggressive goals for increasing energy efficiency throughout the federal government already laid out by President Bush, which directed federal agencies to: reduce energy intensity and greenhouse gas emissions; substantially increase use and efficiency of renewable energy technologies; adopt sustainable design practices; and reduce petroleum use in federal fleets.

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