Lakewood staff propose energy-benchmarking rule for buildings 10,000+ sq ft; DOE grant status clouds timeline

Lakewood City staff presented a proposed energy benchmarking policy March 3 that would require multifamily and nonresidential buildings of 10,000 square feet or larger to submit annual energy-use reports, a step staff says could inform later building performance standards to reduce greenhouse gas emissions.

Jeff Wong, with the Community Sustainability, Climate and Zero Waste Division, told the City Council the proposal would apply to buildings that share central systems (multifamily) and to commercial, public and manufacturing buildings. "We're proposing a benchmarking policy that would apply to all multifamily and nonresidential buildings that are 10,000 square feet and greater in gross floor area," Wong said. He said about 830 Lakewood buildings meet that threshold and that those structures account for nearly 50% of the city's building-sector emissions.

The proposal is the first phase of a two-part approach: benchmarking to collect baseline energy data, followed by a building performance standard (BPS) that would set long-term energy or emissions targets for large buildings. Wong said benchmarking typically covers a 12-month reporting period and can reduce energy use simply by making owners more aware of consumption; staff estimate an average per-building savings of about $1,100 annually for a 10,000-square-foot property and an aggregate potential annual utility-bill savings of roughly $4.5 million across covered Lakewood buildings.

Why it matters

City staff say buildings account for roughly 42% of Lakewood's community greenhouse gas emissions and that a benchmarking program would provide the data needed to design targeted emissions reductions. "Once we have that information, we can dive deeper into each individual building and identify which components use…