When existing buildings 25,000 sq. ft. and larger replace their roof, they must install a cool roof and select one of the Green Buildings Ordinance compliance options. The Energy Program is one compliance option. Participants have up to five years to comply after enrolling in the Energy Program.
The Energy Program includes flexible energy efficiency and renewable energy options and allows you to take advantage of recent energy improvement projects. The Energy Program will help you retain and attract tenants to healthy buildings, lower energy expenses, improve net operating income, and increase building valuation.
The benefits of energy efficiency and renewable energy compliance options in the Energy Program Include:
Building Owner/Manager Benefits:
- Retain and attract tenants
- Lower energy expenses
- Improve net operating income
- Avoid increased costs from run-to-fail replacements
- Comply early so if hail hits, you can replace your roof with no additional requirements
- Energy Efficiency = Increased building valuation
Tenant Benefits
- Healthy, productive employees through lower CO2
- Happy employees due to natural daylight
- Reduce allergies via better air quality
- Better thermal Comfort
When a building owner enrolls a building in the Energy Program they have up to five years from June 1 following their enrollment date to demonstrate they have achieved one of the following compliance options. Enrolling in the Energy Program obligates a building to maintain annual compliance with one of the options for 20 years or through one roof replacement, whichever is longer.
When considering how to meet the Energy Program target, you should start by comparing your building’s Energize Denver Building Performance Requirements to the Green Buildings Ordinance Energy Program target. The Energy Program requires buildings to achieve and maintain and Energy Star score of 85 or higher OR reduce your building’s energy use intensity (EUI):
- Buildings between 25,000 sq. ft. and 50,000 sq. ft. must reduce their EUI by 10%
- Buildings 50,000 sq. ft. or greater must reduce their EUI by 15%
- Visit the Energize Denver Benchmarking page for instructions on how report your building’s EUI. If you have already submitted your annual benchmarking report, you can find your building’s current EUI on the Energize Denver Benchmarking Map
- The default baseline year for comparing EUI reduction is the year prior to enrollment. However, you may select a baseline year up to five years prior to enrollment
If your Energy Program EUI target is higher than your Energize Denver EUI target, you will automatically comply with the Energy Program if you meet your Energize Denver Performance Requirements.
Example Scenario for a 55,000 sq. ft. multifamily building:
- The building’s current EUI is 60
- The Energize Denver 2030 EUI Target for a multifamily housing building is 44.2
- Energy Program requirements for a 55,000 sq. ft. building requires a 15% reduction from its baseline year. This means that to comply with the Energy Program, the building would have to reach an EUI of 51.
- Since the Energize Denver Performance Requirements call for a greater reduction in EUI, the building will comply with the Energy Program if it reaches its EUI target for the Energize Denver Program.
We expect that most buildings will meet their Energy Program requirements if they are on track to meet their Energize Denver Performance Requirements, as these generally call for a larger EUI reduction. Be sure to check your Energize Denver target, based on your building use-type, to confirm whether this is the case for your building.
Building owners and managers can enroll a building in the Energy Program early or at time of roof replacement.
Early Enrollment
To enroll early in the Energy Program, you simply need to complete the online form.
Enroll before it's time for a roof replacement so your buildings can:
- Get ongoing credit for energy-efficient improvements made before it’s time for a roof replacement.
- Choose a "baseline year" from the last five years.
- It is not necessary to re-enroll at roof replacement if the building owner has already early enrolled in the Energy Program.
- Enrollment applies to a building for 20 years or through one roof replacement, whichever is longer.
Enrollment at Roof Replacement
To enroll in the Energy Program at time of roof replacement, submit your application online.
Annual reporting is required for each compliance option in the Energy Program via the building’s annual Benchmarking Report, as required by the Energize Denver Ordinance.
Annual Reporting Exemptions
If you believe you qualify for an Energy Program annual reporting exemption, please complete the online form by June 1st. Include a detailed description of why your building qualifies for the Energy Program exemption. Most exemptions are for that year specifically, and you will need to resume reporting the following year. Exemptions can be granted for the following reasons:
- A demolition permit has been issued for the entire building, and demolition work has commenced on or before the date the benchmarking report is due. Demolition also terminates the building from the Energy Program.
- You were unable to obtain data from your third-party natural gas provider because the building was purchased in the current year, and the owners and natural gas provider have not responded or have refused to provide the data for the rest of the year.
- A year where the building applied for this exception and received it cannot be specified as the baseline year for the Energy Program.
- The building had an average physical occupancy of less than 60% throughout the calendar year for which the Energy Program is required.
- The building is presently experiencing qualifying financial distress, as defined by any of the following:
- The building is the subject of a qualified tax lien sale or public auction due to property tax arrearages
- The building is controlled by a court-appointed receiver
- The building has been acquired by a deed in lieu of foreclosure
- The building was not occupied, due to renovation, for all 12 months of the calendar year for which the Energy Program is required
Note that while the exemption form is used for both Benchmarking and the Energy Program exemptions, the exemptions above only apply to the Energy Program.
Enrollment in the Energy Program allows you your choice of a "baseline year" from the last five years, and credit for energy-efficient improvements made before it's time for a roof replacement. The baseline year is the calendar year energy use used to calculate energy savings for the Energy Program.
The default is the prior calendar year, but you can specify which year in the last five years before enrollment to use as your baseline in order capture recent energy savings. Data for the baseline year is submitted to the city as part of the Energize Denver annual Benchmarking Requirements.
Buildings within the Energy Program have two years to come back into compliance if an annual benchmarking report shows the building has fallen out of compliance. You have a few flexible options to bring a building back into compliance:
- Make operational or systems improvements to bring the building back into compliance.
- A building is not required to take the same compliance path each year.
- For example, for a building over 50,000 sq. ft., if in the first year of compliance the building demonstrates an EUI savings is 15%, the second year they can comply with an ENERGY STAR Score over 85, and in the 10th year they could comply with an EUI savings of 7.5% plus a purchase of off-site solar.
- For a building that misses the initial 5-year deadline to demonstrate energy savings on the EUI path, there is an option to submit proof of completion of an energy efficiency project using a report from an energy efficiency contractor. The report must show that they have made energy efficiency improvements to the building and include proof that the estimated energy savings is equal to the required energy savings. In this case, the benchmarking report submitted 2 years later must demonstrate that you achieved the estimated savings.
If the building is not brought back into compliance by the end of two years, there is a fine for non-compliance. The fine is calculated based on the degree of non-compliance: up to $50 per square foot times 60% of the total roof area. The fine will be a payment into the Green Building Fund.