DOE Doles out $15 Million for Green Building Initiative

It's not a bailout, but the U.S. Department of Energy is providing $15 million in technical assistance to 21 organizations as part of its Net-Zero Energy Commercial Building Initiative.

GreenerBuildings reports the chosen firms include Best Buy, JCPenney, John Deere, Macy's, SuperValu, Target, Toyota, Whole Foods Market, CB Richard Ellis, Forest City Enterprises, Hines, Intercontinental Hotels Group, the Opus Group, ProLogis, Regency Centers, Ryan Companies US, Simon Property Group, Tishman Speyer, the Westfield Group, Bank of America and the PNC Financial Services Group.

The companies will work with the DOE's Pacific Northwest National Laboratory and National Renewable Energy Laboratory to design, build and operate one prototype building and retrofit another to achieve energy savings 50 percent better than the standard set by the American Society of Heating, Refrigerating and Air Conditioning Engineers for new building designs and 30 percent for retrofits of existing structures. According to Network World, the DOE expects the results generated through the initiative to be replicated nationwide.