According to the U.S. EPA, Chicago ranked fifth on a list of U.S. metropolitan areas with the largest number of energy-efficient buildings that earned EPA’s Energy Star in 2009. Chicago now has 134 Energy Star-labeled buildings, up from 125 last year when it was sixth on the list. Almost 60 million square feet of floor space in the Chicago area is in Energy Star-labeled buildings. EPA says that, by adopting Energy Star standards, these buildings prevented greenhouse gas emissions equal to the emissions of more than 44,500 homes a year.
EPA awards the Energy Star to commercial buildings that perform in the top 25 percent of buildings nationwide compared to similar buildings. These buildings typically use 35 percent less energy and emit 35 percent less carbon dioxide into the atmosphere than average buildings.
Rounding out the top ten on EPA's list are: (1) Los Angeles, (2) Washington, D.C., (3) San Francisco, (4) Denver, (5) Chicago, (6) Houston, (7) Lakeland, Florida, (8) Dallas-Fort Worth, (9) Atlanta, and (10) New York City.
Stay tuned to the Illinois Environmental Law Blog for more news and developments.
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