CHANGE FOR THE BETTER WITH ENERGY STAR Buikingt that earn the ENERBY STAR* prevent greenhouse g» emMon* by meeting trict energy efficiency guideinee eet by the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency. www.inergv9tar.gov Water and Wastewater Focus Improvement in water and wastewater energy performance represents a significant opportunity for many partners in EPA's ENERGY STAR program to gain financial and environmental benefits. To help them take advantage of this opportunity, EPA is building an energy efficiency Focus in the water and wastewater industries. Drinking water and wastewater systems spend about $4 billion a year on energy to pump, treat, deliver, collect, and clean water-with much of this cost borne by increasingly tight municipal budgets. The energy costs to run drinking water and wastewater systems can represent as much as one-third of a municipality's energy bill. If drinking water and wastewater systems reduce energy use by just 10% through cost- effective investments in energy efficiency, collectively they would save about $400 million and 5 billion kWh annually. In addition, energy efficiency best practices can also result in significant water savings. An ENERGY STAR Focus is a targeted effort to improve the energy efficiency within a specific industry or combination of industries. Focuses create momentum for continuous improvement in energy performance, provide the industry's managers with the tools they eed to achieve greater success in their energy management programs, and create a supportive environment where energy efficiency ideas and opportunities are shared. To date, EPA has initiated focuses with several industries, leading to the development of energy performance benchmarking capability for these industries, enhanced networking opportunities for partners, and support to the industries in their efforts to manage energy strategically. EPA develops focuses for industry sectors that: Are large consumers of energy, Have significant carbon emissions, Have large costs associated with energy use, and Would receive value from benchmarking energy efficiency using an industry specific energy performance rating system. A Focus on water and wastewater is next in a series of industrial focuses and a natural expansion of EPA's ENERGY STAR commercial and industrial efforts with public and private sector organizations. Participants in this new Focus will work with EPA to develop the following: A strong network of partners (public and private drinking water organizations, POTWs/local governments, and related industry, national, and state associations), ------- An energy performance rating system for each industry that is normalized for the appropriate variables such as weather, climate, plant/system characteristics, and regional differences. An Energy Efficiency Assessment and Opportunities Report for each industry that describes best practices to increase energy and water efficiency, Energy Management Guidelines to help organizations set goals and determine action steps, Innovative solutions to financing energy efficiency projects, Technical training and support for use of the EPA rating system and other ENERGY STAR tools, and EPA recognition of energy performance improvement. Typically, a Focus lasts approximately one year. After the focus phase and the successful development of the above program elements, EPA plans to expand the invitation to participate to all organizations from the water and wastewater industries. For more information and questions, please contact Katy Hatcher, ENERGY STAR National Manager for the Public Sector at 202-343-9676 or hatcher.caterina@epa.gov ENERGY STAR Background ENERGY STAR is a voluntary program helping organizations, businesses, and individuals protect the environment through superior energy performance. EPA's ENERGY STAR partnership offers organizations a proven energy management strategy that helps measure current energy performance, set goals, track savings, and reward improvements. For more than a decade, thousands of American businesses and organizations have partnered with ENERGY STAR. To date, ENERGY STAR has more than 170 state and local partners. These partners include more than 130 cities, towns, and counties, which collectively have a total population of more than 65 million. The ENERGY STAR label has become the national symbol for energy efficiency, recognized by over 60 percent of the American public. Last year, Americans with the help of ENERGY STAR prevented greenhouse gas emissions equivalent to those from 20 millions automobiles and saved more than $10 billion on their energy bills. In 1999, EPA announced its national energy performance rating system for commercial buildings. The rating system is now available for more than 50 percent of the commercial building square footage across the country. Over 20,000 buildings have been rated nation-wide, and more than 2,000 have earned the ENERGY STAR. By earning and displaying the ENERGY STAR, organizations demonstrate their commitment to energy efficiency and environmental stewardship - while saving money on energy bills. ------- |