Leaders in 90 communities fro m

Maine to Hawaii and from Alaska to

Florida are putting Rebuild America on

the map. Ac t u a l l y, they’re putting it all

over the map.

“With 90 partnerships already in

place in nearly 40 states and territories,

Rebuild America is right on schedule to

c reate 250 partnerships by the ye a r

2000,” said Christine Ervin, Assistant

Se c re t a ry for Energy Efficiency and

Re n ewable Energy at the U.S.

De p a rtment of Energy in Wa s h i n g t o n ,

D.C. 

“I think we will reach the 100th

p a rtnership milestone soon because

we’re trying to run the program like a

business,” she pre d i c t e d .

Ervin said Rebuild America is

taking a business-like approach for

many re a s o n s .

“ First of all, this program is

vo l u n t a ry. Pa rtners join because they

see ways that energy efficiency can fuel

economic growth and deve l o p m e n t ,

and because they know Re b u i l d

America can help them save money. ”

When Rebuild America hits full

stride in the year 2000, Erv i n

anticipates that partners will be saving

m o re than $600 million each year and

cutting annual energy waste by as much

as 100 trillion Btu’s in re n ova t e d

buildings. “T h a t’s enough energy to

p ower the entire United States for a full

business day,” she said.

At the same time, partnerships will

c reate thousands of new jobs.

Ervin pointed to Kansas City’s

En e r g y Wo rks program as an example of

h ow partners benefit. Citing statistics

p rovided by the Kansas City-based

Me t ropolitan Energy Center, she said

En e r g y Wo rks alone will create 1,700

n ew jobs over 10 ye a r s .

“That one partnership will save

millions of dollars in government and

n o n - p rofit energy expenditure s , ”

a c c o rding to Ervin. “The money save d

can be invested locally to improve the

c o m m u n i t y. ”

Ervin said a second reason Re b u i l d

America appeals to the business-minded

is that it’s action oriented. Eve ry

When she called, it was 10 a.m. in

Washington. So it was only 7 a.m. in Be rk e l e y,

C a l i f o r n i a .

She was pounding out something on her

computer and was well into her schedule of

the day’s activities. T h e re was no morning

crack in her voice. Cyane Dandridge was re a d y

and roaring to go. 

This energized “go getter” is the pro j e c t

d i rector for the Re En e r g i ze East Ba y

C o n s o rtium. 

Dandridge and her award - w i n n i n g

c o n s o rtium have been successful in launching

n ew products and services, maintaining the

c o m m u n i t y’s invo l vement in Re En e r g i ze

p rograms, forming new partnerships and

learning many lessons along the way. 

“We are developing two new pro g r a m s , ”

said Dandridge . “One is the office equipment

energy audit which will track paper and energy

consumption; the other is to act as an unbiased

re p o rting source for business owners intere s t e d

in creating energy efficient buildings.”

These programs are on track to be

implemented early next ye a r. The consort i u m
p a rtnership develops an action plan

that sets priorities, identifies targets,

assigns roles, and measures results —

many of the same elements found in

any business plan.

A good action plan will generate

tangible benefits for partners. St a t e

and local agencies, for example, will

s a ve money on energy costs for

re n ovated government buildings,

schools, and subsidized housing.

“The Rebuild Boston

p a rt n e r s h i p’s action plan has led to

w o rk with dozens of local housing

d e velopments to screen and tre a t

thousands of apartments thro u g h o u t

the community,” Ervin said.

Building owners and operators

can also look forw a rd to higher

p ro p e rty values for energy efficient

buildings and the likelihood that they

will be able to retain more tenants

because tenants re a l i ze their leasing

dollars are buying greater value. 

Em p l oyers generally benefit fro m

m o d e r n i zed buildings because an

i m p roved work environment fosters

i n c reased worker pro d u c t i v i t y.

Fi n a l l y, Rebuild America attracts

those with a bent tow a rd business

because partners are innova t i ve

p ro b l e m - s o l vers, Ervin explained.

“And each program is tailored to local

p r i o r i t i e s . ”

An innova t i ve technique that

many Rebuild America partners are

using is performance contracting. It

s a ves money and provides a way to

complete projects when in-house

money is unava i l a b l e .

As the program continues to

g row, Ervin said, more and more

p a rtners will be working together and

with the national program staff to

help each other find re s o u rces, form

e f f e c t i ve partnerships, and solve

energy efficiency problems in

communities of all size s .

The reason is simple, she said.

“ Energy efficiency is smart business.”

Welcome to the first issue of Pa rt n e r

Up d a t e, the new quarterly newsletter for

and about partners in the U.S.

De p a rtment of En e r g y’s Re b u i l d

America pro g r a m .

With 90 partnerships already in

place in nearly 40 states and territories

— and plans for at least 150 more

during the next few years —

communication is the centerpiece of our

Rebuild America strategic plan. Pa rt n e r

Up d a t e will be one of our most

i m p o rtant tools for reaching out and

sharing information.

We’ve designed this first issue to

p rovide you with a mix of technical and

not-so-technical information that we

think will help you get on with the

i m p o rtant business of re n ova t i n g

buildings to improve energy efficiency.

It’s the prototype for future new s l e t t e r s .

We’re introducing Pa rtner Up d a t e i n

conjunction with the Rebuild America

Fall Fo rum in Washington, D.C.,

because it’s the first national gathering of

p a rtners. The Fo rum program is

designed to give partners the

o p p o rtunity to network, exchange ideas

and experiences, and help each other to

build and implement successful

community-based pro g r a m s .

This newsletter is designed to do the

same things. We want it to be a

practical tool you can use to find out

what other partnerships are doing, and

to get help solving problems unique to

your own program. Each issue of

Pa rtner Up d a t e will concentrate on the

activities and accomplishments of our

p a rtners. 

Pa rtner Update is the quarterly new s l e t t e r

f rom Rebuild America, a program of the

Office of Energy Efficiency and Re n ew a b l e

Energy at the U.S. De p a rtment of En e r g y.

Rebuild America projects improve the energy

efficiency of buildings to save money, cre a t e

jobs, promote growth and protect the environment 

t h rough cooperative partnerships with America’s communities.

To submit an article to Pa rtner Update, contact Lani MacRae, Ed i t o r, 

at the U.S. De p a rtment of En e r g y, Mail Stop EE-421, 1000 Independence 

Avenue, SW, Washington, D.C. 20585; or email lani.macrae@hq.doe.gov

– Christine Erv i n

Assistant Se c re t a ry 

for Energy Efficiency 

and Re n ewable Energy 

U.S. De p a rtment of En e r g y
A common refrain heard during

arguments is, “Yo u’re comparing apples

to oranges!” 

That is, the comparison being used

is not fair. Accurately ranking the

energy performance of buildings also

re q u i res comparing those with similar

characteristics — apples to apples. Now

you can.

A set of benchmarking spre a d s h e e t s

that we have developed at Oak Ridge

National Laboratory (ORNL) in

Tennessee uses certain aspects of yo u r

office building in addition to size to

p rovide a more accurate picture of how

its energy consumption compares with

o t h e r s .

Be n c h m a rking a building compare s

its performance with others that are

s i m i l a r. It helps you identify pro b l e m s

with buildings and target energy

efficiency effort s .

Energy analysts typically use the

EUI of a building, an index measuring

energy use per square-foot. Fo r

example, the high EUI of the office

building housing ORNL’s Bu i l d i n g

Technology Center (BTC) makes it look

less efficient than 74% of U.S. office

buildings, even though it has many

energy efficient features (Fi g u re 1).

Howe ve r, by using the

b e n c h m a rking spreadsheet, the

b u i l d i n g’s location (a moderate heating

and cooling climate), the high number

of personal computers, and the impact

of owner-occupancy are all taken into

account. 

The result? The building is found

to use less energy than almost two out

of three similar buildings (Fi g u re 2).

The Commercial Buildings En e r g y

Consumption Su rvey (CBECS) is a

large-scale, national survey of

c o m m e rcial buildings conducted by the

Energy Information Administration of

the U.S. De p a rtment of En e r g y.

The spreadsheets consider the five

characteristics with the greatest impact

on energy consumption, based on an

analysis of approximately 1,500 office

buildings in the CBECS database.

The characteristics are :

■ w o rker density;

■ number of personal computers;

■ operating hours;

■ occupancy type; and

■ heating fuel type.

The first four characteristics are

needed to accurately determine the

reasons for electricity usage. The fifth,

heating fuel type, is important when

looking at non-electric fuel use, such as

natural gas.

Even in buildings of the same size ,

energy consumption can va ry gre a t l y

because of these factors. By accounting

for them, we can avoid comparing

buildings having sound reasons for

higher energy usage with those that do

n o t .

For example, a building with a high

w o rker density — that is, more people

w o rking in the same amount of space

— can easily use 30% more electricity.

Specifying these added characteristics

a l l ows you to get a more precise picture

of how a building perf o r m s .

The benchmarking spreadsheets for

office buildings are available for Re b u i l d

America partners. Similar spre a d s h e e t s

for other types of buildings are planned

for deve l o p m e n t .

Te r ry Sharp, P.E., develops methods for

e valuating the energy efficiency of existing buildings

at Oak Ridge National Labora t o ry’s Bu i l d i n g s

Te c h n o l o gy Ce n t e r. To obtain the benchmark i n g

s p readsheets, contact him at (423) 574-3559, 

fax (423) 574-9338, or e-mail ats@orn l . g ov
As Pa rtner Up d a t e went to press, the

U.S. En v i ronmental Protection Agency

p roposed tighter federal standards for two

National Ambient Air Quality St a n d a rd s

( N A AQS) – o zone and particulate matter.

The Clean Air Act re q u i res EPA to re v i ew

N A AQS standards eve ry five years, based

on the latest re s e a rch, and decide whether

existing rules are adequate. A federal court

o rder re q u i red EPA to make that decision

by November 29, 1996.

If the standards are tightened, EPA

may have to designate hundreds of

counties as “non-attainment are a s” for

compliance with those standard s .

Counties in non-attainment must take

steps to achieve compliance, or risk federal

sanctions. Energy efficiency programs like

Rebuild America can help counties

demonstrate that they are making pro g re s s

t ow a rds attainment.

De regulation of the

electric power industry is likely to be a key

issue in the 105th Congress. At least two

bills are expected to be introduced when

C o n g ress convenes in Ja n u a ry 1997 to

re s t ru c t u re the industry d i rectly or pave

the way for states to do so. Is s u e s

s u r rounding the re s t ructuring discussion

i n c l u d e :

■ a l l owing utilities to compete for

customers nationwide;

■ the impact of potential new

e n v i ronmental regulations to mitigate

i n c reased emissions as the result of

d e regulation; and

■ p roviding for the re c ove ry of large

capital investment costs, known as

stranded costs, such as nuclear plants.

will also debut its new office in

Oakland. “The office will highlight

the most up-to-date efficient lighting,

heating and cooling systems, which

h a ve been donated by consort i u m

members,” commented Da n d r i d g e .

“We are really looking forw a rd to

s h owing people that energy efficiency

is not a nove l t y, but a great way to

s a ve the enviro n m e n t . ”

This ye a r, the consort i u m

modified approximately 400,000

s q u a re feet of office space. T h e s e

modifications helped the Bay are a

maintain its economic balance while

supplying employment opport u n i t i e s

to local contractors. Da n d r i d g e

added that she would like to see the

c o n s o rtium do more for small and

m i d - s i zed business owners next ye a r,

but was ve ry happy with pro g re s s

thus far. 

The consortium has been

w o rking to sign new partners to 

its local part n e r s h i p. For example,

Cannon USA will help design the

audit pilot programs and donate

efficient office equipment for the 

n ew Re En e r g i ze office in Oakland. 

Dandridge pointed out that

success has not been easy. “I’ve

learned that in order to make a

p roject of this magnitude effective ,

I ’ve got to stay on top of planning.”

Because of the large number of

p a rticipants invo l ved, Dandridge 

and her staff are preparing a model

communications plan to help similar

o r g a n i z a t i o n s .

Even though Da n d r i d g e’s

occupation may be demanding, 

she said she loves what she does. 

“This is what I went to school for.

I wrote my master’s thesis on energy

efficiency and office technologies at

the Massachusetts Institute of

Te c h n o l o g y.” Her thesis was

published in the CD-RO M

Greening of the White Ho u s e. 

Dandridge had an early

fascination with buildings. In high

school, she designed and built her

f a m i l y’s home. 

In addition to enjoy i n g

a d ve n t u re sports like mountain

biking and skiing, she is an

accomplished writer. Dandridge has

l i ved all over the world, and speaks

f i ve languages.

Be f o re directing the Re En e r g i ze

East Bay Consortium, Da n d r i d g e

spent two years designing new

p rograms for the EPA’s Energy St a r

p rogram. In the early stages of the

c o n s o rtium, it was not so immense.

To d a y, Dandridge has four full-time

staff and two part-time employe e s

w o rking with her.

“We have come such a long 

way from a year ago,” she said. “So

many wonderful and positive things

a re happening with Re En e r g i ze and

I ’m glad to be a part of it.” 

– Cyane Da n d r i d g e

Project Di re c t o r

Re En e r g i ze East 

Bay Consort i u m
Hampden County, Ma s s a c h u s e t t s

says energy-efficiency improvements to

its Hall of Justice will cut the building’s

utility bill almost in half. The $2.7

million project will be paid for by energy

savings over 10 years. CES/Wa y

International, the project contractor, will

guarantee the energy savings as part of its

p e rformance-based contract. Annual

savings are expected to reach $350,000.

The quarter-million square foot Hall of

Justice has served as the county seat since

its construction in 1974. Re n ova t i o n s

will include conve rting the electric

heating system to gas and updating

thousands of lighting fixtures to energyefficient T-8 lamps. The one-ye a r

p roject will begin in early 1997.

For more information, contact Pa u l

S c h roeder at (413) 748-7910.

The Center for En e r gy and

En v i ronment (CEE) in Mi n n e s o t a

has part n e red a multifamily building

owner and an energy service company to

highlight the value of installing ve ry

high-efficiency boiler systems in older

multifamily buildings. The project will

document the energy savings potential of

such re t rofits and address operations and

maintenance issues with unfamiliar

boiler designs. CEE leads the Re b u i l d

America partnership in Mi n n e a p o l i s .

Their five - year goal is to reduce energy

consumption by $5.2 million annually

in 25 million square feet of commerc i a l

and multifamily building space in the

Mi n n e a p o l i s / St. Paul metropolitan are a .

For more information, contact Rich

S z yd l owski at (612) 335-5862.

Residents of Ho l yoke, Colorado will

i m p rove their re c reational centers thanks

to consulting help provided by Re b u i l d

C o l o r a d o. The staff has been busy

w o rking with interested cities for months

in preparation for the spring rollout of

its community improvement package. In

Ho l yoke, a coalition of residents and city

leaders conducted an energy audit of the

1 9 6 0 ’s-era buildings to document

potential cost savings through system

upgrades. Pa rtners have also been

t r a veling around the state to build

a w a reness of energy efficiency and the

savings possible through operational

i m p rovements. 

For more information, contact Alan Na g l e

at (303) 620-4292.

Helping new partners complete

their action plans is the focus of the

De n ver Regional Su p p o rt Of f i c e.

" T h e re is a lot of potential out there to

help local businesses and communities,"

said Jamey Evans, the regional pro g r a m

re p re s e n t a t i ve. After three months, the

n ewest partner in Texas has completed

f i ve walk-through audits and has almost

a dozen more scheduled. The Re b u i l d

Colorado program has been work i n g

with energy service companies to draft

sample performance-based contracts for

p a rtners to use.

For more information, contact Ja m e y

Evans at (303) 275-4813.

Ma rketing efforts at the Se a t t l e

Regional Su p p o rt Office h a ve re s u l t e d

in nine new Rebuild America

p a rtnerships. Cu r rent partners have also

been busy. The Rural Alaska Bu i l d i n g

Energy Efficiency Project completed a

trial audit for Tanana, a community of

350 people, and is working with the

Lighting Design Lab in Seattle to explore

lighting options for extremely cold

climates. Also, Po rtland Pa rtners for

Energy Efficiency held a kickoff in

October and is currently re c ruiting a

p roject dire c t o r.

For more information, contact Pa u l

Johnson at (206) 553-2154.
Two new products from the

Rebuild America program team will

make it easier for new partners to

c h a rt their course and curre n t

p a rtners to finance their pro j e c t s .

A Model Action Pl a n and a

Financing Gu i d e will be available to

p a rtners in early 1997. They both

p resent ideas from business leaders

and hands-on professionals aro u n d

the country.

The Model Action Pl a n is an

outline for new partners to use as

they sort out what they want to

accomplish and how they should

target their re s o u rc e s .

Action plans from curre n t

p a rtners are used as examples to

illustrate the wide variety of ideas

Rebuild America partners have

g e n e r a t e d .

The Model Action Pl a n will addre s s :

■ establishing a part n e r s h i p,

d e veloping goals and setting

p r i o r i t i e s ;

■ selecting candidate buildings;

■ outlining actions, re s p o n s i b i l i t i e s

and re s o u rc e s ;

■ monitoring and eva l u a t i n g

results; and

■ m a rketing and pro m o t i o n .

The Financing Gu i d e will help

p a rtners make financing decisions

and access investment capital to

finance community pro j e c t s .

The guide takes advantage of

experiences from banking and

i n vestment experts to craft strategies

that local partners can use to move

p rojects forw a rd .

The five major financing options

a vailable to partners are discussed in

the Financing Gu i d e. For each

option, several case studies are

discussed. 

These options are :

■ internal operating funds;

■ debt financing;

■ leasing arrangements;

■ energy performance contracts;

a n d

■ utility incentives and state

p ro g r a m s .

The Financing Gu i d e will include

a decision matrix, which will assist

p a rtners in choosing the best

financing alternative .

Also included is a discussion of

energy issues that are likely to affect

financing decisions over the next five

to ten years. These include utility

d e regulation, emissions trading and

s e c o n d a ry markets for energy

e f f i c i e n c y.

Regional program re p re s e n t a t i ve s

will notify partners when the Mo d e l

Action Pl a n and the Financing Gu i d e

a re ava i l a b l e .

We’ll also devote as much space as

we can to covering the nuts and bolts of

organizing, financing, and managing 

e f f e c t i ve part n e r s h i p s .

And we’ll be watching for new

p roducts, services, and ideas we think

p a rtners will find helpful. A re g u l a r

calendar feature will identify

c o n f e rences, seminars, and other

p rograms you should know about and

may want to attend.

Fi n a l l y, we’ll use this column to keep

you informed on what’s happening in

Wa s h i n g t o n .

All of us on the Rebuild America

s t a f f, both in Washington and in the

field, are excited about Pa rtner Up d a t e.

We’ve worked ve ry hard to try to fill it 

with information our partners — and

p ro s p e c t i ve partners — can use.

We invite you to help us make this

n ewsletter the best it can be. You can do

that in two ways.

First, share with us your ideas for

f u t u re stories, features, events, pro f i l e s ,

and technical information. 

And just as important, please tell us

what you think of Pa rtner Up d a t e. We

need your comments to make sure we’re

giving you the kind of information yo u

n e e d .

Again, we’re ve ry happy to pre s e n t

you with this first

issue of Pa rt n e r

Up d a t e. We hope

you enjoy it and

look forw a rd to

hearing from yo u .
U.S. Conference of Ma yors Wi n t e r

Me e t i n g . Ja n u a ry 17-20, 1997 in

Washington, D.C. For information,

contact USCM at (202) 861-6783.

Winter Meeting and Exposition of the

A m e rican Society of He a t i n g ,

Re f rigerating and Air-Conditioning

En g i n e e r s . Ja n u a ry 25-29, 1997 in

Philadelphia, PA. Contact ASHRAE,

1791 Tullie Circle, NE, Atlanta, GA

30329, or call (404) 636-8400.

Financing Economic De velopment and

Attracting Jo b s . Sp o n s o red by the

National Council for Urban Ec o n o m i c

De velopment (CUED). Fe b ru a ry 26-28,

1997 at the Omni Sh o reham Ho t e l ,

Washington, DC. Contact Chris Me a d

at (202) 223-4735.

Associated General Contractors

C o n s t ructor Exposition. Ma rch 

7-9, 1997 at the Washington 

C o n vention Center, Washington, 

D.C. AGC members are responsible 

for approximately 80% of domestic

contracting. Contact AGC at 

(202) 323-6789.

NESEA Building En e r gy `97: In s u ring a

Sustainable Fu t u re . Sp o n s o red by

No rtheast Utilities System, PNL/Ba t t e l l e

National Labs and the De p a rtment of

En e r g y. Ma rch 12-15, 1997. Contact Jo

Ann Lawrence at (413) 774-6051, e-mail:

nesea@nesea.org or via internet at

h t t p : / / w w w. s o l t i c e . c re s t . o r g / n e s e a

Be l ow is a selection of Re b u i l d

America products designed to help

p a rtners achieve success in their

c o m m u n i t i e s .

In f o rmation Ki t : A brief ove rv i ew,

including a Pa rtner Ap p l i c a t i o n .

Community Pa rt n e r s h i p

Ha n d b o o k : A detailed guide to

c reating a part n e r s h i p, deve l o p i n g

p rograms, obtaining financing and

e valuating re s u l t s .

Press Ki t : A folder of pre s s - o r i e n t e d

information, with guidance on

c reating materials for yo u r

p a rt n e r s h i p.

Media Relations Gu i d e :

Information on developing pre s s

i n t e rest in your partnership and

w o rking with the media.

Bro c h u re : A quick look for

i n t e rested people.

The Rebuild America web site is:

h t t p : / / w w w. e re n . d o e . g ov / b u i l d i n g s

/ re b u i l d

Rebuild America products, and

additional information on becoming

a part n e r, are available from the

Energy Efficiency and Re n ew a b l e

Energy Clearinghouse (EREC) at 1-

800-DOE-EREC (TDD 1-800-

2 7 3 - 2 9 5 7 ) .

The EREC web site is:

h t t p : / / w w w. e re n . d o e . g ov
FIRST CLA S S

US POSTAGE PA I D

WA S H I N G TON, DC

Rebuild America PERMIT 6579

U.S. De p a rtment of En e r g y

1000 Independence Avenue, SW

Washington, DC 20585

Ad d ress Correction Re q u e s t e d

For information on Rebuild America, please call The Energy Efficiency and Re n ewable Energy Clearinghouse at 1-800-DOE-EREC.