10/14/2021 | Press release | Distributed by Public on 10/14/2021 09:51
WASHINGTON, D.C. - Today, the U.S. Department of Energy (DOE) released the Fall 2021 Better Buildings, Better Plants progress update. The report highlights more than 250 manufacturers and water utilities that have introduced energy efficiency and decarbonization measures, cumulatively saving $9.3 billion in energy costs and 1.9 quadrillion British thermal units (Btus) -- more energy than the state of Wisconsin consumes in a year. The Better Buildings, Better Plants Program aims to decarbonize the industrial sector and the progress and success of its partners achievements will help accelerate the Biden-Harris Administration's climate goals of a net-zero economy by 2050.
"The industrial sector is one of the hardest to decarbonize, but America's market leaders are leaning into the challenge to deliver cleaner air for all," said Secretary of Energy Jennifer M. Granholm. "DOE's Better Buildings, Better Plants Program is helping industry partners develop, implement, and share cutting-edge technologies and practices that save energy and money, protect our environment, and increase our nation's competitiveness."
DOE's Better Plants program partners include every major U.S. industrial sector representing almost 14% of the domestic manufacturing footprint and 3,500 facilities across the country. By joining Better Plants, partners voluntarily pledge to reduce portfolio-wide energy intensity by roughly 25% over 10 years. DOE works with partners to meet ambitious energy and sustainability goals by providing technical assistance, peer-to-peer learning, technology validation and training, and workforce development. More than 60 partner organizations have met and, in some cases, substantially exceeded the energy and water goals established by Better Plants.
Highlights from the 2021 Better Plants Annual Progress Update:
In addition to setting energy efficiency goals, Better Plants Challenge partners also share their solutions and best practices. There are now 54 Better Plants Challenge partners sharing almost 100 combined showcase projects, implementation models, and "solutions-at-a-glance" on the Better Buildings Solution Center. In 2021, four partners joined the Challenge:
Read the full 2021 Better Plants Annual Progress Update to learn more about partner successes and how the Better Plants Program and Challenge boosts competitiveness and fights climate change through improvements in energy efficiency.
Through the Better Buildings Initiative, DOE partners with public and private sector organizations to make commercial, public, industrial, and residential buildings more efficient, thereby saving energy and money while creating thousands of jobs. To date, more than 950 Better Buildings Partners have shared their innovative approaches and strategies for adopting energy efficient technologies. Discover more than 3,000 of these solutions in the Better Buildings Solution Center.