EPA Recognizes Northwest Energy Efficiency Alliance as 2009 ENERGY STAR(R) Partner of the Year in Program Delivery

NEEA earns award for protecting the environment through energy efficiency

PORTLAND, Ore., March 10 /PRNewswire/ — The U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) has recognized the Northwest Energy Efficiency Alliance (NEEA) with a 2009 ENERGY STAR Partner of the Year award for its outstanding contributions to reducing greenhouse gas emissions by delivering information and services to increase energy efficiency. NEEA’s accomplishments will be recognized at an awards ceremony in Washington, D.C. on March 31, 2009.

NEEA, an ENERGY STAR partner since 1998, is being honored for its work to increase market share of energy-efficient ENERGY STAR qualified products, homes and buildings through comprehensive outreach, education and marketing efforts in both the residential and commercial sectors.

“NEEA is proud of our partnership with ENERGY STAR and our contribution to increasing energy efficiency,” said Claire Fulenwider, NEEA’s Executive Director. “By leveraging the ENERGY STAR brand and its tools and by working together with electric utilities, we have made great strides in helping increase the number of energy-efficient products, homes, businesses and high performance buildings throughout the Northwest.”

“EPA is pleased to recognize the Northwest Energy Efficiency Alliance for leadership in addressing global warming through greater energy efficiency,” said Kathleen Hogan, Director of the Climate Protection Partnerships Division at the U.S. EPA. “NEEA has excelled at helping customers improve their efficiency, save money, and better understand the steps they can take to help in the fight against global warming.”

This award commends NEEA’s 2008 accomplishments in both its commercial and residential ENERGY STAR program delivery activities. In the commercial sector, NEEA’s commercial building initiative, BetterBricks, made significant strides in improving energy efficiency within the Northwest’s real estate and healthcare markets. As a result of BetterBricks outreach, real estate firms representing 27 million square feet of office space benchmarked energy use using the ENERGY STAR Portfolio Manager in 2008. NEEA’s BetterBricks initiative also helped hospitals representing 25 percent of the region’s beds benchmark their energy use in 2008. Currently, hospitals representing 30 percent of the Northwest market now have clear energy management plans incorporated into their operations.

Despite a severe downturn in the housing market, NEEA’s efforts in the residential sector led to nearly doubling the market share for Northwest ENERGY STAR certified homes in 2008. In addition, the Northwest ENERGY STAR Homes program, working with the Oregon Department of Energy and its utility partners, helped pave the way for upgraded residential energy codes in Oregon that are 15 percent more efficient than the state’s previous code.

The ENERGY STAR Partner of the Year Awards for Program Delivery are given to a variety of organizations to recognize their efforts to improve energy efficiency and reduce pollution. Award winners are selected from more than 12,000 organizations that participate in the ENERGY STAR program.

About NEEA

The Northwest Energy Efficiency Alliance (NEEA) is a non-profit supported by energy efficiency leaders including Bonneville Power Administration, Energy Trust of Oregon and more than 130 utilities from Oregon, Washington, Idaho and Montana. Through regional leverage, NEEA’s market transformation efforts span the commercial, industrial and residential sectors, and help bring new energy-efficient technologies, services and practices to market. According to the Northwest Power and Conservation Council, the Northwest has saved nearly 3300 average megawatts (aMW) through energy efficiency over the past 30 years, which is like powering the city of Seattle three times over. Visit http://www.nwalliance.org.

About ENERGY STAR

ENERGY STAR was introduced by the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency in 1992 as a voluntary market-based partnership to reduce greenhouse gas emissions through increased energy efficiency. Today, ENERGY STAR offers businesses and consumers energy-efficient solutions to save energy, money and help protect the environment for future generations. More than 12,000 organizations are ENERGY STAR partners committed to improving the energy efficiency of products, homes, buildings and businesses. For more information about ENERGY STAR, visit www.energystar.gov or call toll-free 1-888-STAR-YES (1-888-782-7937).

SOURCE Northwest Energy Efficiency Alliance