Mitch Landrieu, the mayor of New Orleans, Louisiana recently announced the Downtown NOLA Energy Challenge, a competition between business owners across downtown New Orleans to reduce their energy usage. The city has partnered with the Downtown Development District and the City Energy Project to provide participating businesses with resources such as free technical support and training to optimize performance. The challenge will run through May 2018, after which the leading businesses will win prizes and awards for their efforts.
Studies have shown that, on average, 30 percent of the energy used in commercial buildings is wasted. Buildings that measure and track energy data have been able to get 6-14 percent in energy savings on average over several years, resulting in significant cost savings. The City is also working to improve energy efficiency in buildings across New Orleans. Using data tracking, energy savings opportunities have been identified for 92 municipal properties including NORD and NOPD sites.
Downtown Development District President and Chief Executive Officer Kurt Weigle said, “Better energy management directly impacts a property’s return on investment. The poorest performing buildings use three to seven times the energy of the highest performing buildings. In addition, efficient buildings achieve an average of 10 percent higher occupancy rates and 10 percent higher rents over inefficient buildings. The DDD is excited about helping its members achieve greater economic competitiveness through energy efficiency.”
“I am proud to engage our downtown business owners to reduce their energy footprint,” said Mayor Landrieu. “For the past eight years, this administration has been committed to being resilient and creating an energy-efficient city, and this challenge is proof positive of that work.”
