Dallas reports energy-efficiency gains, new solar projects and a pilot battery system for city buildings

City of Dallas Facilities and Resource Management staff told the Environmental Commission on a June meeting that the city has completed multiple energy-efficiency upgrades in municipal buildings, is expanding its rooftop solar portfolio and is piloting a combined solar-plus-battery installation at a recreation center.

FRM staff described completed projects including a City Hall boiler replacement finished in December 2024 and a high-efficiency lighting retrofit completed in April 2023 at three city facilities. “The total project cost [for the City Hall boiler] was approximately about $3,200,000,” FRM staff said, adding the boiler swap moved the building from an old steam system to a high-efficiency hot-water system and produces “an estimated annual savings in gas usage [of] approximately about 30%,” along with lower operations-and-maintenance and chemical-treatment costs.

The lighting retrofit across three facilities cost about $1,000,000 and is expected to reduce lighting energy use by roughly 35% while lowering replacement and disposal costs for lamps, the staff presentation said. FRM also reported that the city has completed energy benchmarking for about 195 buildings using the EPA Portfolio Manager and that energy audits have been completed for roughly 45 city buildings in…