ENERGY STAR Certification & Green Leasing Grant Overview

ENERGY STAR Certification & Green Leasing Grant Overview

Announcements 

Sustainable Energy is now accepting new grant applications for our ENERGY STAR Certification and Green Leasing Grant. Please download the Guidance Document and the Fillable Application to begin your application. Read more about ENERGY STAR, Green Leasing, and eligibility below. Have questions? Reach out to EnergyStarCGL@co.pg.md.us 

Overview 

The Department of the Environment, Sustainable Energy (SE) offers funding through this program to encourage commercial and multifamily building owners to install energy conservation measures (ECMs) that also achieve ENERGY STAR® certification while encouraging green leasing practices within Prince George’s County. This effort will help support the County’s goals of reducing greenhouse gas emissions and attracting and retaining high-value tenants. 

Eligibility and Available Funds 

The ESGL grant award is available to owners of multifamily and office buildings owners that meet the following criteria: 

Commercial office buildings must be at least 10,000 square feet, and multifamily properties must have two or more units. All buildings must have been constructed before March 23, 2016, and be located within the service territories of PEPCO and/or Washington Gas, as verified by utility bills. 

Contractors performing the work must be approved by EmPOWER Maryland Service Providers for the relevant services and complete the Prince George's County Office of Procurement vendor registration process. All projects must show at least a 20% reduction in total energy costs, kilowatt-hours (kWh), and therms. Green Leasing measures must be included and cannot exceed 20% of the total funding amount. 

The maximum grant award available is capped at $150,000 (labor and materials) per location address allocated the following ways. Up to $50,000 can be allocated towards reimbursement for the costs of retaining an auditor selected in the EmPOWER program to deliver both benchmarking in ENERGY STAR Portfolio Manager (ESPM) as well as the completion of an Investment Grade Audit (IGA) equivalent to an ASHRAE Level 2 or 3 Audit. A completed audit report and baseline recorded in ESPM are required for both an application and request for reimbursement to be considered complete and accepted for review by Prince George’s County Sustainable Energy. Up to $50,000 for natural gas conservation measures and $50,000 for electric conservation measures prescribed via the IGA Report. Up to $1,500 may be attributed to a Licensed Professional to verify and stamp the ENERGY STAR certification application. Grant awards are designed to cover some portion of the net customer cost after applying for other incentives and grants. 

Background 

In support of the County’s adopted Climate Action Plan priority recommendations, the Department of the Environment, Sustainable Energy (SE) is committed to leading by example by implementing practices that reduce the 3 C’s of energy: cost, consumption, and carbon emissions. 

The ENERGY STAR® and Green Leasing (ESGL) grant incentivizes climate-ready green building choices that accelerate deep energy retrofits, promote community-wide efficiency, and expand weatherization efforts. This program aligns with Sustainable Energy’s goal to provide reliable and environmentally sound energy solutions that enhance the quality of life of Prince George’s County residents while concomitantly maximizing energy savings and addressing the Climate Action Plan’s Priority Recommendations. The Department of the Environment, Sustainable Energy (SE), offers funding to encourage commercial building owners to install energy conservation measures (ECMs) that also achieve ENERGY STAR® certification. 

ENERGY STAR® certified buildings save energy, cut operating costs, and help protect the environment by emitting fewer greenhouse gases than similar structures. The funding will reimburse some of the total installation costs of these measures. Buildings receiving financing from the ENERGY STAR® Certification and Green Leasing Grant must maintain certification for at least three (3) years and adopt green leasing practices that align the interests of property owners and tenants.  How to Apply for the ENERGY STAR | ENERGY STAR 

What is ENERGY STAR Portfolio Manager? 

ENERGY STAR is a voluntary U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) program that helps businesses and individuals protect the environment through superior energy performance. 

The commercial buildings program has helped over 200,000 buildings benchmark their energy performance, and more than 12,600 have earned EPA’s ENERGY STAR certification 

The energy performance score system offers building managers a standardized, comparable metric for building energy efficiency. 

Building managers can enter building operating characteristics and a year of utility bills into the online benchmarking tool Portfolio Manager to receive a 1-to-100 score indicating how the building compares to similar buildings nationwide. A score of 50 indicates that the building is performing at the industry average. A building with a score of 75 or higher is eligible to earn the ENERGY STAR label. 

Portfolio Manager calculates greenhouse gas emissions (including carbon dioxide, methane, and nitrous oxide) and aligns its methodology with the requirements for most inventory and reporting programs. 

What is "Green Leasing"? 

Green leases (also called aligned leases, high-performance leases, or energy-efficient leases) are rental agreements in which tenants commit to or gain incentives by participating in water/energy conservation, waste reduction, and recycling, use of non-hazardous cleaning products, or other sustainable actions. 

For more information, please visit the Green Lease Library