WASHINGTON, D.C. - April 23 - The Energy Efficiency Partnership of Greater Washington joined the Chesapeake Crescent and the Meridian International Center in announcing today that the governors of Maryland and Virginia, the Mayor of Washington, D.C., the director of the U.S. General Services Administration (GSA), and local business leaders from the private sector have committed to a multi-pronged approach to significantly advance energy efficiency in the National Capital Region. More than 400 federal, state and local commercial buildings -- encompassing 74 million square feet of space and generating $36.5 million annual energy savings -- have been identified for energy saving retrofits. In addition, public sector building owners will invest $175 million to reduce the region's energy consumption. The announcements were made at the "20-Now" Action Forum, a half-day workshop for regional building owners, developers and financial institutions.

Energy savings from the 74 million square feet of retrofitted building space identified today include 318 million kilowatts saved annually, resulting in 545 million pounds of avoided C02 emissions per year. These numbers equal 45,000 cars taken off the road in the greater Washington, D.C. area.

According to Virginia Governor Timothy Kaine energy saving plans across 380 state-owned buildings total approximately $150 million in investments. Maryland Governor Martin O'Malley will sign into law tomorrow a legislative package that includes one of the nation's most ambitious energy efficiency goals aimed at saving the state more than $5.7 billion annually.

The "20-Now" Action Forum was organized by the Energy Efficiency Partnership of Greater Washington, a $500 million initiative launched by Virginia Tech with financier Hannon Armstrong and Pepco Energy Services in October 2007. Additional hosts include the Chesapeake Crescent, a joint collaborative launched by Maryland, Virginia, District of Columbia, the Federal government and private business leaders, Meridian International Center, site of the Forum, and the World Business Council for Sustainable Development.

"20-Now" was conceived with the goal of identifying 20 building owners to reduce energy consumption by 20 percent. Today, more than 400 buildings pledged to receive retrofits. "The momentum that's been generated by the partnership in just a few short months demonstrates what can happen when multi-sector entities combine their strengths to address the urgent issue of global warming," said Virginia Tech President Charles Steger, who delivered luncheon remarks. "Today's public outreach event is a major step in addressing the global problem of climate change in the Washington D.C. area."

George Vradenburg, co-founder and vice-chairman of the Chesapeake Crescent and a speaker at the Forum, added, "The Chesapeake Crescent joins together the political and business leaders of the District, Maryland, and Virginia, and the Federal government's GSA to take dramatic action to improve energy efficiency -- driving regional competitiveness through lower energy costs and taking a major step toward reducing greenhouse gas emissions."

Statement from Virginia Governor Timothy Kaine

Virginia is proud to be a partner in the region's efforts to lead in the efficient use of energy. We are implementing energy savings projects at many state buildings that will add to the great work of Hannon Armstrong, Pepco Energy Services, Dominion, the Chesapeake Crescent, Virginia Tech, and the Energy Efficiency Partnership of Greater Washington.

This year our plans include implementing energy savings performance contracts covering approximately 380 state-owned buildings across the Commonwealth, totaling approximately $150 million. This will double our current investment. The buildings affected by these savings range from as large as 1 million square feet to as small as 20,000 square feet.

The reduction in state agency energy costs from these projects should total $15 million per year. We also estimate that the energy savings will result in reducing greenhouse gas emissions by 174,000 metric tons equivalent of carbon dioxide per year.

Governor Timothy Kaine said, "Virginia is committed to taking strong actions to implement our state Energy Plan, realizing that we have not only the responsibility but the ability to save taxpayers money while protecting our climate and natural resources for future generations."

Statement from Maryland Governor Martin O'Malley

Governor Martin O'Malley has emerged as national leader on energy efficiency by implementing bold plans to reduce per capita electricity consumption 15% by 2015 and leading the way by ensuring that all state buildings and schools are energy efficient.

"Energy efficiency is the fastest and least expensive way to reduce Marylanders’ electricity bills, reduce the risk of rolling blackouts as soon as 2011, and lead the fight against global climate change," said Governor O'Malley.

Tomorrow, April 24, Governor O'Malley will sign into law a legislative package that includes one of the nation’s most ambitious energy efficiency goals. When EmPower Maryland is fully implemented, it is estimated to save Marylanders $5.7 billion (or an average of $190 per household annually). A separate bill will create a Strategic Energy Investment Fund that will provide short term rate relief along with long term investments in energy efficiency without additional cost to the ratepayer. The legislative package also will require that all new state buildings and schools be energy efficient.

"These measures will work in combination with each other to lower Marylanders' electricity bills, keep our lights on, and allow us to take control of our energy future," said Malcolm Woolf, Director of the Maryland Energy Administration.

To lead by example, the Maryland Department of General Services is developing a state-of-the-art database to help evaluate energy consumption at all State buildings. In addition, DGS currently is pursuing energy efficiency retrofit projects at 12 state agencies covering a wide variety of buildings, including the Orioles and Ravens Stadiums facilities, all the State tunnels and bridges, 36 state office and government buildings and courthouses, and many more. When these contracts are completed in 2011, collectively they will save $10 million in avoided costs and approximately 45 million kWh each year, greatly reducing the looming threats of rolling blackouts.

Statement from Washington, D.C. Mayor Adrian Fenty

Washington, D.C. Mayor Adrian Fenty said, "The District is one of the country's great green cities. We have some of the most ambitious green building laws in the country. We have almost 250 green buildings - more than 10 times what we had less than two years ago - and the private sector has not only come to embrace this new way of thinking, they're driving it. The District's largest building, the Walter Washington Convention Center is committed to reducing emission by 20 percent during the next two years, while we are exploring new retrofit programs for our schools, libraries and government centers."

Statement from David Winstead, Commissioner of GSA's Public Buildings

"The 20-Now Action Forum gives us the opportunity to educate the region on our sustainable building program, as well as the energy conservation efforts underway at GSA," said David Winstead, Commissioner of GSA's Public Buildings. "As the largest single consumer of energy in the United States-with federal buildings accounting for 37 percent of the government’s energy usage, we are leading by example by retrofitting our existing inventory with energy efficient measures, which includes 13 projects in 12 buildings in the Chesapeake Crescent region. In aggregate these projects will save 13.4 million kilowatts every year, and save the taxpayers almost a million dollars per year. We believe that reinvestment in our existing buildings is one of the most environmentally and fiscally prudent decisions a building owner can make."

Click here to watch a video from this event

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