[Archived] Alexandria Focuses on Energy Conservation

City Press Release


	City of Alexandria, Virginia Office of the City Manager Alexandria City Hall 301 King Street, Suite 3500 Alexandria, Virginia 22314-3211 www.alexandriava.gov Telephone: 703.838.4300 Fax : 703.838.6343

Alexandria Focuses on Energy Conservation

An important goal of the City of Alexandria is energy conservation. The City’s General Services Department currently leads two umbrella programs, one internal and one external, in pursuit of its mission for energy and resource management.

As part of the external program, General Services staff participated in a workshop for the Leadership in Energy and Environmental Design (LEED) program and joined the U.S. Green Building Council. The Council is a public-private partnership whose mission is to promote buildings that are environmentally responsible, profitable, and healthy places to work. Prior to joining the LEED program, the City enacted several measures to improve energy and resource management. The City retrofitted Fire Station 205 and the Health Department and Mental Health “Clubhouse” facility with energy-efficient lighting, gave Fire Station 204 a new indoor air quality system, and installed Energy Management Systems at five City locations. The City also established and funded an Environmental Compliance account, to address bio-hazardous materials mitigation, for $25,000 and continues capital funding of an Energy Conservation account with a current allocated balance of $113,000.

In addition to the external program, the Department of General Services initiated an internal program to support, encourage, and stimulate awareness of energy conservation and environmental preservation within the City. The internal program supports energy efficient and environmentally sustainable buildings, City fuel and energy conservation and emission reduction goals, and development of a City-wide training program on energy conservation and a promotional campaign. Another objective of the internal program is to partner with Energy Star and Rebuild America to acquire energy-efficient and environmentally-friendly mechanical systems and infrastructure. Energy Star is a government-backed program helping businesses and individuals protect the environment through superior energy efficiency. Rebuild America is a program that builds partnerships among communities, states, and the private sector to improve building performance and connect people, resources, ideas and practices for energy solutions to community needs.

The City’s participation in these energy and resource conservation programs will be of substantial, positive, long-term fiscal and environmental benefit to the City and all of its citizens. For more information, call 703.838.4770.

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