Energy Future Coalition

Building STAR

Despite early signs that our economy is on the mend, we still face double-digit unemployment rates in many important sectors.  Today, 1 in 5 construction workers—over 1.7 million people—are out of work.  Many of them are skilled tradesmen who have worked on commercial, institutional, and large residential buildings.  Finding a way to create good jobs for Americans is a priority across the country, from Pennsylvania Avenue to Main Street.

By jumpstarting energy-efficient retrofits of buildings, we can get people working again, improve financial security by cutting energy bills, and help address climate change by slashing energy waste.  The Rebuilding America initiative worked with a wide range of technical, industry, and efficiency experts to accomplish just that.

Building STAR is a package of incentives intended to quickly create jobs, including:

  1. Simple and straightforward rebates for energy-efficient equipment and services that supplement existing utility and state rebates; and
  2. Enhancements to existing and proposed tax incentives and codes.

Building STAR's two-part approach allows the diverse group of commercial and multi-family building owners to have the flexibility to pick the incentives that best fit their situation.  The rebate program sets meaningful efficiency standards for qualifying equipment and services, and rebate levels will spur $2 to $3 of private investment in retrofits for every public dollar invested.

Good new jobs and less energy waste—we need policies that make both happen as soon as possible.  Building STAR can deliver this by spurring retrofits of our commercial and multi-family buildings.

Resources

Outreach Materials:

Building STAR Introductory Presentation

Building STAR Facts

Building STAR and Small Business

Latest List of Endorsers

Building STAR Concept Note

Press Releases:

March 11, 2010: Real Estate Roundtable CEO Jeff DeBoer's Senate Testimony on Building STAR

March 11, 2010: Real Estate Roundtable  Bulletin Highlighting Building STAR

March 9, 2010: ACEEE Predicts Efficiency Will Create 333,000 Jobs in 2010

March 4, 2010: Building STAR Legislation Introduced

March 4, 2010: Senators Merkly and Pryor Introduce Building STAR Legislation