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The United States Environmental Protection Agency (“EPA”) issued a news release announcing what it describes as its “Top Cities” list that have the greatest number of ENERGY STAR certified commercial and multifamily buildings.
The City of Russellville, Arkansas, was included in the category “Top 10 Small Cities.”
EPA creates the annual list by tallying the number of ENERGY STAR certified buildings within each metropolitan area. It has separate rankings for large, mid-sized, and small cities. The areas include the city itself as well as surrounding suburbs.
The impetus for the program is stated to be the energy used by commercial buildings.
EPA states that commercial buildings are responsible for 16% of the United States greenhouse gas emissions. ENERGY STAR certified buildings are stated to use an average of 35% less energy and are responsible for 35% less carbon dioxide emissions than typical buildings.
A commercial building earning ENERGY STAR must score 75 or higher on the agency’s 1 - 100 scale. Such a score indicates that it is more energy efficient than 75% of similar buildings across the country.
The score is calculated on factors such as:
- Energy use
- Hours of operation
- A variety of other operating characteristics
A copy of the news release, which references each of the three categories and the cities included, can be downloaded here.
