Louisville Ranked 25th in Nation Among Cities With Most Energy Star Buildings

After a several year hiatus, Louisville hasreturned to the list of the 25 cities with the most Energy Star-certified buildings in the nation. The last time Louisville made the  list was in 2009. This year, it was ranked 25th.

AsI reported in January, the city met the goal set by Mayor Greg Fischer to certify 25 Energy Star buildings in 2013. The city'ssustainability plan also set a goal of getting onto the top 25 list by 2018, and into the top 10 by 2025.

But now, the first part of that goal has been met, several years early. According to a news release from Metro Government:
In all, the 60 buildings in Louisville that received ENERGY STAR certification since 1999 have reduced their annual energy consumption by 274 million kBtu, equivalent to the emissions from 6,700 homes, and saved more than $5.7 million in energy costs. Louisville ranked 25 ^th on the Top Cities list in 2010, and in an effort to get back on the list, Fischer issued a citywide challenge to certify 25 buildings in 2013. “This energy reduction is helping to achieve the city’s goal identified in Louisville’s sustainability plan, Sustain Louisville, of decreasing energy use per capita 25% by 2025,” said Maria Koetter, director of the city’s Office of Sustainability. “This year, Mayor Fischer launched a new challenge, and we hope to reduce energy use even further.” The Mayor’s 2014 Energy Star Building Challenge is for the community to certify 30 new buildings, a 20% increase over 2013.
Energy Star-certified buildings are highly efficient, and their design and features result in lower energy usage and fewer greenhouse gas emissions. Now, Fischer is calling for 30 new buildings to achieve Energy Star certification in 2014.