Energize Denver Task Force

Designing Denver’s Building Performance Policy

The Energize Denver Task Force will help the City design a building performance policy for existing commercial and multifamily buildings that:

  • Improves Health and Equity: Improve indoor air quality, comfort, and health outcomes. Lower energy costs for businesses and improve energy equity. Ensure under-resourced communities can thrive under the policy.
  • Creates Jobs: Create clean energy jobs and drive economic recovery from COVID.
  • Drives Climate Solutions in Buildings: Buildings are responsible for over half of the greenhouse gas emissions in Denver today. The Task Force will design a policy that will require all existing buildings to achieve Net Zero Energy by 2040. The Task Force will help the City design a regulatory path that enables all buildings to achieve this goal. Net Zero Energy means highly efficient, all electric, grid flexible, and powered by 100% renewable electricity.  

 

Meetings & Charter

The task force's final Charter can be found here(PDF, 348KB). The task force will meet January-September 2021. The public is welcome to listen-in to meetings on Facebook Live at Facebook.com/DenverCASR.

Meeting #1: Thursday, January 7, 2021 from 1pm - 4pm

Meeting #2: Thursday, February 18, 2021 from 1pm - 4pm

Meeting #3: Thursday, March 18, 2021 from 1pm - 4pm

Meeting #4: Thursday, April 22, 2021 from 1pm - 4pm

Meeting #5: Thursday, May 20, 2021 from 1pm - 4pm

Meeting #6: Thursday, June 17, 2021 from 1pm - 4pm

Meeting #7: Thursday, July 15, 2021 from 1pm - 4pm

Meeting #8: TBD

 

Workforce Workgroup

As part of fulfilling the Energize Denver Task Force charter, the Workforce workgroup will develop, for Task Force review, a draft workforce training plan to accompany the Task Force building performance policy recommendations.  The goal of the draft training plan will be to ensure we have a workforce trained for the transition to net zero energy buildings and equitable access into these jobs. The workgroup will also suggest labor standards for the Task Force to tie to City incentives, as part of the Task Force recommendations. 

View the Workforce Workgroup workplan here(PDF, 179KB).

Equity Workgroup

As part of fulfilling the Energize Denver Task Force charge, the Equity workgroup will evaluate initial policy options presented by the City and consultants for Task Force review and decision making. The workgroup will raise issues and questions, flag concerns, and help the City frame and narrow options, in order to help focus Task Force deliberations. The workgroup will coordinate with the Climate Solution and Workforce workgroups as needed.

Climate Solutions Workgroup

As part of fulfilling the Energize Denver Task Force charge, the Climate Solutions workgroup will evaluate initial policy options presented by the City and consultants for Task Force review and decision making. The workgroup will do a ‘first pass’ at pros and cons, other considerations, and relevant trade-offs between the different policy options related to highly efficient, renewable-powered, electrified buildings to achieve the Task Force NZE mandate. The workgroup will raise issues and questions, flag concerns, and help the City frame and narrow options, in order to help focus Task Force deliberations. The workgroup will coordinate with the Equity and Workforce workgroups.

View the Climate Solutions Workgroup workplan here(PDF, 140KB).

Members

The 2021 Energize Denver Task Force includes stakeholders from our community from across the real estate sector, energy sectors, labor, workforce development, affordable housing, small business, resident advocates, solar, energy efficiency, and environmental advocates.

The Energize Denver Task Force membership:

  • Aaron Martinez, Urban Land Conservancy
  • Amie Mayhew, Colorado Hotel & Lodging Association
  • Angela Fletcher, Denver Housing Authority
  • Ariana Gonzalez, Natural Resources Defense Council
  • Celeste Cizik, Group 14 Engineering
  • Christine Brinker, Southwest Energy Efficiency Project (SWEEP)
  • Eddie Bustamante, LiUNA! Local 720
  • Frank Arellano, LBA Realty
  • Jennie Gonzales , IBEW 68
  • Jennifer Gremmert, Energy Outreach Colorado
  • Jenny Wilford, Colorado Sierra Club
  • Jolon Clark, Denver City Council District 7
  • Jon Buerge, Urban Villages
  • Jonathan Cappelli, Neighborhood Development Collaborative
  • Kathie A Barstnar, NAIOP Colorado
  • Lori Pace, Denver Metro Association of Realtors
  • Mike Kruger, Colorado Solar and Storage Association (COSSA)
  • Monique Dyers, Ensight Energy Consulting
  • Peter Muccio, Apartment Association of Metro Denver
  • Sam Knaizer, bp, bpx energy
  • Scott Prestidge, Colorado Oil and Gas Association
  • Sergio Cordova, Pipefitters Local Union No. 208
  • Stephen Shepard, Denver Metro BOMA
  • Steve Morgan, Bolder Energy Engineers, Rocky Mountain Association of Energy Engineer
  • Tyler Smith, Xcel Energy

Background

In 2016 the original “Energize Denver Task Force” recommended Benchmarking and a Building Performance Policy. The City decided to start with only a Benchmarking policy. Benchmarking has seen over 90% compliance every year for four years, and yet Denver is not on track to reach its emission reduction goals (see our Building Performance Dashboard).  

The 2020 Climate Action Task Force recommended bringing Denver’s 17,000 existing commercial and multifamily buildings to Net Zero Energy by 2040 through a building performance policy that includes energy efficiency requirements, electrification requirements starting around 2025 (as space or water heating systems are replaced), with all buildings required to be electric by 2040, and all powered by 100% renewable electricity. The Task Force also recommended a sales tax that has now been approved by voters to help our community reach its climate goals equitably, with up to $40 million in funding each year for the Climate Protection Fund.

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