As part of the Obama Administration’s effort to cut energy waste in the nation’s buildings and double energy productivity by 2030, the Energy Department recently announced $14 million to dramatically increase the efficiency of our nation’s homes and buildings. The City of Seattle was one of six award recipients.

The Department of Energy will provide $1.3 million to the City to develop and implement a three year program to support the roll-out of the City’s mandatory tune-up requirement. The Office of Sustainability & Environment, with Seattle City Light, the Smart Buildings Center, UW’s Integrated Design Lab, and the Pacific Northwest National Labs will engage with building owners, managers and vendors to develop market expertise and accelerate the voluntary implementation of energy efficiency improvements in Seattle’s small and medium commercial building stock – buildings that will be subject to mandatory tune-ups beginning in 2020. The partners are providing $2.4 million in matching funds over the three years, with Seattle City Light contributing the majority of that for building audit and conservation incentives, for a total program budget of $3.8 million.

More info here:
http://energy.gov/eere/articles/energy-department-invests-14-million-increase-energy-efficiency-nation-s-homes-and